Mark Knopfler should be in the top 5 guitarist list...

[Mds53]

Change my mind, but whenever I see a top 10, or 50 or 100 guitarists of all time, and Mark Knopfler isn't one of the first 5, I immediately discount the list.

Whether it's his lightning fast and innovative lead breaks, his fingerstyle acoustic sets, or his ability keep up with and even surpass Chet Atkins....he is my all around favorite.

The lists often have Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, etc at the top. Very influential players in a narrow genre, but BEST? No way.

[stevo58]

Well those lists are silly. And meaningless. They are a pure popularity contest.

Which one of these guys should he replace (random selection)?

Wes Montgomery
Joe Pass
Gary Davis
Jeff Beck
Doc Watson


“Best ever” just means the players I enjoy listening to most - some temporarily, some longer term. So at the moment, my top five might look like this -

Blind Blake
Jim Campilongo
Jonathan Stout
Jimmie Vaughan
T-Bone Walker

But next week it might be different (Except Blind Blake, he’s been pretty consistent) I don’t think I’ve looked at a list like than in ten or fifteen years.
- Steven

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by stevo58

Well those lists are silly. And meaningless. They are a pure popularity contest.
- Steven

Popularity contest, or just click bait. Once in a great while you might come across one that has some thought behind it.

I hold Knopfler in VERY high esteem, but I don’t know where I would rank him if I took the time to generate a list.

[Glennwillow]

Rating art or artists is always problematic, at least for me.

I love Mark Knopfler's playing. He has such a wonderful sense of melody, he tends to pick out beautiful lines to play. He is not the fastest guy out there, he doesn't play lightning fast, fluid lines like Eric Johnson seems to, but man, his stuff is so beautiful.

- Glenn

[frankmcr]

I'd take McGuinn over Knopfler.

[Bob Womack]

Bold declarations of preferences followed by "Change my mind" are... um... problematic. Change my mind.

Bob

[Horsehockey]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

I'd take McGuinn over Knopfler.

Not me. McGuinn showed up blind drunk for a concert I paid cash money for back in the day when money meant something. Guess I’m an unforgiving sort.��

[raysachs]

When I first heard the first Dire Straits album in about 1979, I remember thinking, "if I was good enough I'd play like some combination of this guy and Clapton", which is to say I immediately loved his playing. I have ever since and still do.

That said, I agree with the general pushback the OP is getting here. Top 5, 10, 100 lists are way beyond problematic. Some days, he might be in my top 5. Somedays I'd think of five other people and he wouldn't even cross my mind. And all of those reactions are just about who I like most on a given day, not who's "BEST" - there's just no objective way to judge stuff like that. I think we can judge who the most innovative players are just by the impact they had going forward. For my money, Hendrix and Clapton are the most innovative rock lead guitarists, with a nod to Van Halen. Van Halen wasn't my personal cup of tea, but there's no denying the impact he had on a generation of players. For rhythm, I'd say Chuck Berry and Keith Richards are probably the most copied rock guitarists. But even those kinds of judgements are fraught and can't really be judged. And acoustic players are a whole other universe.

It just comes back to the old saw about music not being a competitive sport. So there's no "BEST", just who we like most at a given moment. I've loved Knopfler's playing since the first time I heard him. But he's not the only one, not by a long shot.

-Ray

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by stevo58

Well those lists are silly. And meaningless. They are a pure popularity contest.

- Steven

Well said!
I think of art as a collaboration or community…not a contest. I hate those ranking lists.

[J Patrick]

…if I had a top five….based on the number of his recordings I have on my iPhone….he’d definitely be in…..

…top five?….I need a top fifty at least

[tinnitus]

While I wouldn't know exactly where to put MK on any list like that, he certainly deserves to be right up toward the top. Absolutely killer talent (which I value far beyond skills). And opinions evolve. If you handed me the same list of 100 players to sort out every week for a year, I'd probably never do it the same way twice.

ALL of those "best/greatest" lists, Top-40 and Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame things are highly suspect to me whenever I look at who's #1, the order of the rest, who's in it - and who's not.

Who decides these things anyway? Given today's industry where a lyric like "I bust the windows out your car," is prized as the good stuff, I feel whatever I feel about music for that moment, very comfortable in knowing that my taste is as subjective as anyone else's.

[David Eastwood]

I’ve spent a good chunk of this afternoon listening to Frank Zappa’s “Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar”.

Frank’s playing is not for everyone, but his obtuse, angular and fluid style was perfect for my mood today.

#1 in my book - until tomorrow

[Mds53]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Bold declarations of preferences followed by "Change my mind" are... um... problematic. Change my mind.

Bob

I love it!

My dad used to authoritatively throw out controversial statements of opinion and then follow up with "but I don't really have an opinion".

I also enjoy stirring the pot a bit.

[M19]

I love me some Mark Knopfler, but I can run off 10+ I think are "better" without thinking too hard: Allman, Beck, Gilmour; Hendrix; Howe; Lage; Lifeson; Page; Santana; Van Halen; Walsh.
Still, "Telegraph Road" is one EXCELLENT song, and the Love Over Gold album is fantastic. Love me some Knopfler!

[TBman]

Well...... There's Tommy Emmanuel.

Then there's everyone else.