Favorite Electric Guitarists

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I am horrible at superlatives so here are some influences:

Joe Walsh. Every now and then I am overdubbing in a recording session and I look up at the monitors and say, "Oh, crap." I'm channeling Joe again!" The apple doesn't fall from the tree: The James Gang Rides Again was my second album.
Duane Allman/Dickey Betts - Well, I am from the South, after all.
David Gilmour - "Playing for the song" is thy name.
Andrew Latimer of Camel - emotion and melody in every lead
Andy Powell and Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash - That English folk sensibility runs deep.
Steve Howe of Yes - I almost NEVER look up at the monitors and say, "Oh Crap. I'm channeling Steve again." He's so idiosyncratic and so idiomatic that I really have a hard time playing in his choppy style. BUT, he is imaginative and inspiring to the max.
Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) - I must admit that "New Horizons" and "This Morning" were early starts for me on the road to melodic playing.
Tony Peluso - With Richard Carpenter he created the "power ballad" genre on the Carpenters' "Goodbye to Love." I fell in love with the song and his solos and decided I wanted to solo on guitar. Then I met and played with him.
The Doobie Brothers - these guys taught me the art of the precis solo.
Steve Lukather - He plays some killer solos and showed me that higher gain can be done with taste.

Bob

This is a great post Bob! I love the quote from Gilmour and your reaction to channeling Joe Walsh! I find myself doing similar channeling with Dave Gilmour and Mark Knopfler...

[Gordon Currie]

In order of my discovery:

Jimi Hendrix
Duane Allman
Andy Latimer
Steve Howe
Jeff Beck
Pat Metheny
Allan Holdsworth
Steve Morse
Adrian Belew
Eric Johnson
Wayne Krantz
Jimmy Herring

[stephenT]

Finally! The greatest living Guitar Player.

Originally Posted by acoustigoat

Lately I've been on a big Bill Frisell kick. This was his contribution to the Fretboard Journal "You Are My Sunshine" project.

[David Eastwood]

Lots of greats listed here. I’m surprised to see so few mentions for Jeff Beck, but that’s ok.

Here are a few more who rise to the appellation ‘favourites’, (not ‘best’), for me:

Robert Fripp
Steve Hillage
Phil Manzanera
Bill Nelson
Harriet Furtwangler
John Petrucci
Micky Jones
Mick Ronson

[TJE]

No mention of the following?

Guthrie Trapp
Josh Smith

If you have never heard of these two look them up! Joe Bonamassa says Josh Smith scares him! 🤣

[frankmcr]

My Top Ten favorites, listed alphabetically:

Jeff Beck
Chuck Berry
James Burton
Charlie Christian
Steve Cropper
Dave Davies
Freddie King
Roger McGuinn
Muddy Waters
Clarence White

[rockabilly69]

Chuck Berry
Mick Taylor (all of his time in the Stones)
Keith Richards
Mark Knopfler
Lowell George
Jimmy Page
Joe Walsh (All of his James Gang work and solo up 'till So What)
Eric Clapton (Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes)
Jeff Beck (up 'till Blow By Blow)
Jimi Hendrix
Ron Wood (pre Rolling Stones)
Dickie Betts
Duane Allman
Johnny Winter
Billy Gibbons (the first 4 ZZ Top studio albums)
Pete Townsend (all of his work with The Who, and Rough Mix with Ronnie Lane)
George Harrison

There are others that I enjoy, but I've quoted these guys all along while I was developing my style!

[pegleghowell]

Willie Johnson(Howlin`Wolf`s guitarist),Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker.

[Marley]

I have favorites

#1-Jerry Garcia, far above anyone else. After him, it's just all my favorites

Jimi
Peter Tosh and Bob Marley
Adam Jones
John Frusciante
Taj Mahal
Trey
Brad Nowell

and many others

[raysachs]

Pretty much all the classic folks...

Hendrix
Peter Green
BB King
Clapton
Garcia
Keef
Beck
Bloomfield
Richard Thompson
Mark Knopfler
Neil Young
Johnny Winter
Billy Gibbons
Duane
Dickey
Bonnie Raitt
Muddy
Jorma (like him much better on acoustic though)
Mike Campbell

I'm spacing out a bunch of players no doubt, but any I'm forgetting to mention would fit seamlessly into this list.

-Ray

[Ray175]

Many of those mentioned above, plus Mike Bloomfield who played from the heart

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Chuck Berry
Mick Taylor (all of his time in the Stones)
Keith Richards
Mark Knopfler
Lowell George
Jimmy Page
Joe Walsh (All of his James Gang work and solo up 'till So What)
Eric Clapton (Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes)
Jeff Beck (up 'till Blow By Blow)
Jimi Hendrix
Ron Wood (pre Rolling Stones)
Dickie Betts
Duane Allman
Johnny Winter
Billy Gibbons (the first 4 ZZ Top studio albums)
Pete Townsend (all of his work with The Who, and Rough Mix with Ronnie Lane)
George Harrison

There are others that I enjoy, but I've quoted these guys all along while I was developing my style!

Billy Gibbons is a great guitarist and a collector of gear. Netflix had a documentary/movie on ZZ Top last year and it was fantastic.

[rwmct]

Peter Green. I like a lot of guitarists quite a bit, but at his best Green just sounds so good to me.

As to regional players I can actually go and see fairly frequently (or could, until Covid) I like Sharkey McEwen of Gandalf Murphy/Grand Slambovians.

[Don W]

Johnny A...if you don't know him, check him out...astonishing...as is the Gibson Johnny A guitar that he designed with the Gibson guys.

[JStotes]

Wow! 44 posts in and no mention of Danny Gatton or Jerry Reed.

Also:
Vince Gill
Unknown Hinson
Ray Flacke
Brent Mason
Kenny Vaughan
Guthrie Trapp
Rory Gallagher
Rick Derringer
Alvin Lee
Steve Wariner
Merle Travis
Sonny Landreth
Jimmy Olander
Lee Roy Parnell