Top Ten Guitarists

I always see these lists on the greatest guitarists of all time and never agree with them. So I am going to open up the debate with my own thoughts on a very subjective topic.

1. Jimi Hendrix - Jimi was only on this world a short time but changed the way music was played forever. It would be hard to ever find that kind of raw talent again. He made amazing things look as easy as breathing, and could make a guitar that was out of tune sound more in tune. It took a while after he was gone for anyone to even catch up to what he was doing. The first album asked a question that couldn't be answered until you heard it, Are You Experienced?

2. Edward Van Halen - Ed is actually my favorite but I put him as a close second. The 80's was a decade of guitar players trying to sound like Eddie, so he seems to have gotten thrown in with all the imitators. Go back to 1977 when the first Van Halen album was released, nothing like Eruption or anything else on the record had been heard before. Probably the most recognized guitar in the world too.

3. Eric Clapton - Clapton has probably had the most diverse career of anyone on the list and showed so many sides to the instrument. Think about how different Cream sounds from Tears from Heaven or even Cocaine. The funny thing is, they all sound like Clapton, doesn't matter if it's a Marshall stack or a Martin acoustic.

4. Jimmy Page - Led Zeppelin brought out the best in Page and it defines a rock sound. You would be hard pressed to find someone can't hum or grunt out a Zeppelin tune. Heavy rock in the 70's was defined by Page's riffs and are still relevant and copied. Where would music be today without his influence, can you picture a world without Whole Lotta Love or Stairway to Heaven?

5. Stevie Ray Vaughan - The thought of Texas Blues would probably bring Stevie Ray to mind for most people. Being from Texas I just thought he was a local phenomenon at the time, but his talent took him much further. Though he was only here a while, he brought a truer form of blues back and gave people a taste for more. For a while it seemed as though we knew what Jimi would have been playing if he were still around.