Recently I was again reminded of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 list of guitar players, and it really made me start thinking. Since starting GuitarPlayerZen, I’ve really realized that it is pretty much impossible to come out with any kind of objective rating scale on guitarists. Hell, I know probably more than 100 guitar players that are our Myspace Friends or one of our Featured Guitar Players that could objectively “smoke” some of these guys.
It is, however, very interesting to see what players are influential to other great musicians. Whenever I hear a new talented guitarist, I immediately begin to wonder what guitar players he/she grew up listening to and idolizing. Finding out who one’s top influences are is a great way to discover new talent, I also feel is a great exercise in understanding and appreciation for all musical genres. You might not like metal, but there is something that can be greatly appreciated in the playing of Dragonforce, or Dimebag. You might not be into country chicken pickin’, but man Brent Mason can play the hell outta a guitar.
We would love to hear who your Top 5 Guitarists are in our comments. We could all benefit from it and maybe even discover some new players we have never heard of before!
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