Who Are Your Top 5 Guitarists And Why? Options

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Choosing our favorite musicians and bands can be tricky for those who love music and that are discovering new music every day but we all have those guitarists who had a big impact in our musical life, influencing us to play music, to play any style, to practice more, or to have add a new philosophy into our playing and life.

This is my list:


SLASH

Guns & Roses is the band that made me say: I want to be a rock musician, I want to compose amazing rock songs and play for lots of people at big stadiums. Slash was there, I wasn't able to sing like AXL, so when I was 11, I decided that I wanted to play like Slash. His solos were always memorable as well as his guitar tone and feeling. I can affirm that Slash made me love guitar at first.

JOE SATRIANI

When I was 13 I was all day listening to Guns and Roses, Ramones, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Queen. I used to play mostly powerchords and some Pentatonic Scales. A friend of mine invited to see live Joe Satriani. It was 1995, he was presenting his Joe Satriani album, but he also played songs from albums like Surfing with the alien and The extremist. This show blown my mind, it was pure magic and it seemed to be possible to achieve. For any reason I said, this guitarist is amazing, but I can do it, I can play those fast licks, I just need to know where to put the fingers! The day of the concert I received a catalog with sheet music books, I didn't know it existed, so I decided to buy the original music score for "Surfing with the alien" album. It was a bible, I started to learn the songs, it wasn't as easy like I thought, but it was possible. I just needed a lot of PRACTICE.

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

Aroung 1995/6, I was very fan of metal bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica Megadeth and was starting to learn their music and some of their solos. I was also starting to discover power metal bands that sounded like a faster version of the metal classics.
One day, a friend came to high school with the album "Magnus Opus" by Yngwie Malmsteen. As soon as Vengeance started I said, wou!! I love this, the song was killer and the guitar solo was very explosive. I was very into classical music so I loved the idea of combining it with my main love Heavy Metal. I bought a technique book, get his guitar clinic and contacted a local teacher who used to play Malmsteen tributes to be my mentor. I learnt lots of their solos and songs, from Steeler and Alcatrazz, to their solo and live albums. By the age of 17, I can say that I was able to play his music and licks well.

STEVE VAI

Steve Vai was always there, since I discovered Joe Satriani but it took time to grow in me and I can say that his texts, interviews and philosophy make me understand and enjoy even more his music and he has become one of the most inspiring and influential musicians for me. His speeches and his guitar lines are pure creativity and inspiration. He was the first that I found giving importance to spirit, own voice, personality, spirituality, quantum and creativity stuff applied to music. Every time I feel a bit unmotivated, I get back to Vai.

ZAKK WYLDE

It has been tricky to choose the 5th guitarist, there are many ones that have been important for me like Paul Gilbert, Jimi Hendrix, John Petrucci, Dave Navarro, Tom Morello, Dimebag Darell, Marty Friedman, Ritchie Kotzen. However, based on the criteria that I took to do this selection, Zakk Wylde deserves to be part of my list. When I first listened to his playing on Ozzy's Ossmosis album I was amazed! he was able to mix my two things that I loved, rocker playing with shredding, he was the perfect mix between Slash and Gilbert.

Who are your top 5 guitarists and why?

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[HungryForHeaven]

1. In 1985 or possibly 1986, I first heard Yngwie Malmsteen, and he will always be my number one guitarist. Regardless of his personality and regardless of how he has developed (or failed to do so) over the years, by this time he was the original, the trend-setter, and anyone else who tried to follow in his footsteps was just another dull copy. The impact he has had on what is nowadays referred to as "neo-classical metal" is probably difficult or impossible to understand for someone who wasn't around at the time. The album in question was Marching Out (which features songs still on my top list, such as Soldier Without Faith and I'm A Viking) and later I found out that he recorded not only a Rising Force album before that, but also one studio and one live album with Alcatrazz as well as one album with Steeler. Of course, I had to have them all (and still do - on vinyl, of course). I didn't even really play the guitar by then, but I was fascinated by the sounds and harmonies that could be produced by the instrument. To be honest, I'm not sure, but he might have played a crucial role in the fact that I once picked up the guitar "for real". [He had nothing to do, however, with the fact that I didn't play at all for close to 20 years.]

2. I don't remember how, but a couple of years later I heard Vinnie Moore's Mind's Eye. To this day, the opening track In Control is one of my absolute favorite pieces. He seemed to have a different approach, with his strict alternate picking giving a sharper tone and a more firm rhythm compared to Malmsteen's flowing economy/legato concept.

3. I'm not saying this because I feel I have to, or because this is the forum of the site where Ben Higgins is an instructor. I'm saying this because he's fast and furious; melodic and knows his way around the fretboard; his compositions are so well-planned - be it the studio version of the solo of a thrash metal song made in the 2010's, a GMC lesson on legato, bending, vibrato or mini-sweeps, or an "in the style of" piece catching every curious detail of any famous player you could think of; anyone would gain from taking part of his practice/playing and composing philosophy.

4. Paul Gilbert. It was only after I re-started playing a few years back that I realized that "that dude from Mr. Big" is such a virtuoso. Now that I know, words are redundant when it comes to this dude.

5. The first metal album that I listened actively to was Defenders of the Faith from 1984. I'm not sure whether the duellists Tipton/Downing have inspired me as a guitarist or not, but I do know that the band has played an essential role in my life in general.

Who knows, just as with favorite songs or even favorite food, next week my top list might look differently. But this is what I came up with today.

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[Ben Higgins]

3. I'm not saying this because I feel I have to, or because this is the forum of the site where Ben Higgins is an instructor. I'm saying this because he's fast and furious; melodic and knows his way around the fretboard; his compositions are so well-planned - be it the studio version of the solo of a thrash metal song made in the 2010's, a GMC lesson on legato, bending, vibrato or mini-sweeps, or an "in the style of" piece catching every curious detail of any famous player you could think of; anyone would gain from taking part of his practice/playing and composing philosophy.

Oohh.. sir, really...









*cough* *resumes typical English gentlemanly conduct*

"Why, thank you."

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[HungryForHeaven]

Oohh.. sir, really...









*cough* *resumes typical English gentlemanly conduct*

"Why, thank you."

Youtube can't be wrong! Over two and three quarters of a million views of one video speak for themselves.

Then again, other (also BRILLIANT, versatile, and very GMC) players have less than ten thousand left to four million views...

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[bleez]

tony iommi
the dude has written some of my favourite music of all time. I dont think I go more than 24 hours without listening to something he is playing.
loose, heavy, melodic and doomy.
david gilmour
his phrasing, his bends. The atmosphere he can create.
buckethead
A song like 'soothsayer' is everything I like about BH. I like the sad / spooky melodies he uses and when he turns on the shred...... its just amazing.
slash
The reason I bought a Les Paul. If slash hadnt played another note since the appetite album he'd still be one of may favourite players.
gabriel leopardi
I really dont want to sound like a fanboy but imo gab is like mixing elements of slash and buckethead. you have ultra fast shreddy runs and licks all based in a foundation of old school rocker melodies. I watched some of Gabs youtube stuff before I joined up here and when I watched them I would think to myself "yes, thats exactly how I would like to play".

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[Monica Gheorghev...]

First of all I hope it will not be a problem because my top it's only with 3 guitarists I will told you why. I always liked to listen a lot of guitarists but they have just 2-3 songs for my taste. So, for a top I must like 95% from their songs. Until a few years ago I never had a favorite guitarist, I never wished to play like somebody. But of course now all these things are different and I have my top 3 You will see, all my 3 guitarists have something in common in their playing.


Andy Timmons - some years ago I found about him. I was really fascinated. Was for the first time when I wished so much to play at guitar. I started to listen his music every day. I was happy that I'd found the perfect guitarist for my taste. He had everything I liked: feeling in his playing, awesome tone, sense of melody, every note it sounded magical in his hands

Darius Wave - As Hungry said about Ben, I’m not talking about Darek because he is instructor in GMC. I know Darek since he wasn't instructor here So all I say it's not related with GMC, are just my musical preferences.
His style it's a truly inspiration for me. Has anything I wish to hear in my playing. He was the first guitarist which after I listened all of his takes from YT, I said to my friends that I wish to play like him He is a mix of everything as Timmons: feeling in playing, perfect tone, sense of melody, amazing technique and the most important thing for me: is among the few musicians so versatile. He can play and compose any style and that’s why he is a genius for me. I am very sure nobody will never "dethrone" Darek from my top He will always be after Andy

Marcus Deml - The first time when I discovered him, I was and I'm still obsessed about how he do raking. It's one of the guitarists which use this technique very much but sound amazing Also his feeling of playing and tone are very impressive. He is really awesome.

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[jstcrsn]

1.Randy Rhaods is still today ,captivating.He was the reason I started playing.He would probabably roll in his grave to know that his songs are backround for car commercials as when his songs were first released , we had to wait till midnight for the radio to play them , and this was in south L.A.
2. Vivian Campbell -Rainbow in the dark, fast picking , blues ,legato, harmonic accents thru out,IMO one of the most complete solos ever
3. Yngwie .I originally heard him in "Steeler" and this guy was so far ahead of thepack, back when it came to fastpicking and arpegios , it is only something you could understand by being there, and I still have Steeler on vinyl .I think he recorded this 82-83

there are many others , but these 3 shaped me the most

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[SpaseMoonkey]

1. Kirk H/James H, I list this together because to me, you can't have one with out the other. I don't feel they are the best players, but for me they made me want to learn to play. That means a lot in the long run.

2. Dimebag, He makes it due to I got back into the guitar because of his style, those nice groovy riffs and that southern rock solos with fast runs.

3. Buckethead, He can do whatever he wants. Weird Sci-Fi sounds? Melodic? Acoustic? Feel Goods? He seems to cover it all for me. Just would love to open up one day so I can also have a wide array of creativity.

4. John 5, This was another guy I grew up with from Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. Always felt he was underrated with a band. Next thing I knew he tossed out some solo work. I love his mix of Metal/Country.

5. Jeff Loomis, Very humble person, can throw down tight riffs and lightening fast solos. Sweeping that is over the top and yet still clean and articulate.

Honorable mention would be Ben Higgins for me as well. I bet I send out his 30 shredders video to people once a month when I need a reference to a style of playing. I remember to this day the first GMC video I seen that would be the Instructor Collab using Red Shot. The bends and vibrato are to kill for. Every time he posts a video I always want to play my guitar right after I watch him.

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[Spock]

Adam Jones: The rhythmic percussive style of his playing is hypnotizing.

Alex Lifeson: Have been a fan since I first heard him on the Hemisphere's album, I can't seem to shake a lot of his inflections in my own playing because of this.

Chris DeGarmo/Jeff Wilton duo: Awesome songwriters and in their heyday were was my favorite, for their melodic style and they didn't overuse bar chords.

Zakk Wylde: It's all in his attack. Everything he plays he plays with absolute confidence and complete control - even when he screws up

Rhandy Rhoades: No explanation needed.


Oh yea - and Cosmin, Gabe, Ben, Todd and Darius:

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This post has been edited by Spock: Jun 12 2014, 11:30 AM

[Jim S.]

I'm going to pick my #1 favorite because when I hear his songs no matter where I am or what I'm doing I make a real nasty face. Sort of like if I just farted and I know it's gonna stink. If your into instrumental guitar then every album is a journey into his crazy mind. You can tell that with each genre he studied he applied that concept to the album.


Greg Howe!

He is definitely my all time favorite because every one of his albums are like going on a journey into his mind. He does have 2 albums with vocals that I do not care for but his instrumental albums are bangin'. Greg's albums cover almost every genre.

The first album Introspection is his second and truly a fusion masterpiece. I bought the sheet music and backing tracks but looking at the sheet music is blur of 32nd notes and odd timing phrases. Here is a song from the album that sets the mood.

2. The next album is Uncertain Terms it is another instrumental monster but this song is very light hearted and beautiful. Song for Rachell

3. Parallax! The whole album moves into the funky/odd time happy groove music. Here's a good song from it


4. Next album is Five and it progresses again harmonically by using recurring hooks, scoops, super legato runs and finesse. Here's a awesome tune from that album

5. His next album is Ascend and it is dark. He pushes his guitar to the extreme. This is tales untold and it opens with a great tapping theme

6. Hyperaucity gets pretty experimental with chords and drum/bass solo's here's a prime example

7. Sound Proof!!!!!!! This is one of his best it has humor amazing playing an all around top notch songs. Here is my favorite off this album. The sons that plays before this is a conversation Greg has with tom morello from schrapnell records asking Greg to write a song. It's really a great intro

8. Current band Maragold it's poppy rock with a female vocalist which I'm starting to like


He also has some projects with Dennis chambers and victor Wooten called Extraction which is crazy jazz.


I hope if you've never heard of him look him up. He teaches skype lessons too which I've had a couple but did not take advantage of. I regret not asking the right questions.

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[DeGroot]

It is hard to just pick 5.

Jimmy Page- I wanted to play guitar at age 5 after hearing Led Zep for the first time. I love his blend of blues/hard rock. He penned some of the most iconic riffs of all time.

Mikael Akerfeldt- He writes some of the most twisted and creative material. He can play these soft acoustic passages and then hit you with a sinister sounding riff and make it sound so seemless. I also think his solos are very tasty.

Yngwie J. Malmsteen- I'm big into the neo-classical sound. There are other players in this style that I probably listen to more now but YJM influnced me to want to learn to play lead guitar.

Jeff Loomis- He is like the modern day Jason Becker. Besides being a virtuoso, he writes some truly amazing songs and riffs.

Marty Friedman- I was always a fan of his playing with Megadeth, but it wasn't until I discovered some of his solo albums like "Scenes" that I really appreciated his playing. He unique way of exotic phrasing and his signature touch just make him one of a kind. His new album 'Inferno' is absolutley killer.

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

gabriel leopardi
I really dont want to sound like a fanboy but imo gab is like mixing elements of slash and buckethead. you have ultra fast shreddy runs and licks all based in a foundation of old school rocker melodies. I watched some of Gabs youtube stuff before I joined up here and when I watched them I would think to myself "yes, thats exactly how I would like to play".

I can't believe I'm in a list here, I feel so happy and inspired of reading this.

You can't imagine how much I'm learning of myself by reading your description. Thanks a lot!

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[Ben Higgins]

Honorable mention would be Ben Higgins for me as well. I bet I send out his 30 shredders video to people once a month when I need a reference to a style of playing. I remember to this day the first GMC video I seen that would be the Instructor Collab using Red Shot. The bends and vibrato are to kill for. Every time he posts a video I always want to play my guitar right after I watch him.

Wow, thanks Travis. I remember once when you said about being in the gym with your ipod on and some crazy vibrato came out of nowhere. You thought it was me for a second and realised it was an Outworld track with Rusty !

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[PosterBoy]

I'm going to have to have a hard think about this one. For me it's not just about them being great guitarists, but how they make me feel about the guitar, their enthusiasm for music, and how they make me want to be better

Paul Gilbert - Technique for miles, but they fun and joy of music is always with him

Tomo Fujito - The guy is so funky, he's like Mr Myagi he teaches about triads and basing every thing on very simple concepts


Andy Wood - Another shredder with so much more, he comes from a Bluegrass background and his knowledge and love of proper country music is infectious. Again another guy who just plain loves music.

Ted Greene - A Genius, without undervaluing the word genius, his improvisational noodlings are 100x better than pretty much anyone. And his love of teaching and music and theory comes across you could listen to him for hours. We lost a good one when he died.

I can't decide on the last one, I've still a list of players all worthy of the being here

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

I'm going to have to have a hard think about this one. For me it's not just about them being great guitarists, but how they make me feel about the guitar, their enthusiasm for music, and how they make me want to be better

Paul Gilbert - Technique for miles, but they fun and joy of music is always with him

Tomo Fujito - The guy is so funky, he's like Mr Myagi he teaches about triads and basing every thing on very simple concepts


Andy Wood - Another shredder with so much more, he comes from a Bluegrass background and his knowledge and love of proper country music is infectious. Again another guy who just plain loves music.

Ted Greene - A Genius, without undervaluing the word genius, his improvisational noodlings are 100x better than pretty much anyone. And his love of teaching and music and theory comes across you could listen to him for hours. We lost a good one when he died.

I can't decide on the last one, I've still a list of players all worthy of the being here

Interesting list. I have Ted's book called Chord Chemistry and it's amazing, however I've never heard to his music yet. I should.

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[PosterBoy]

Hey Gab

Here's the youtube channel dedicated to him, it has a lot of his teaching videos on here which are mind blowing
https://www.youtube.com/user/TedGreeneArchives

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hey Gab

Here's the youtube channel dedicated to him, it has a lot of his teaching videos on here which are mind blowing
https://www.youtube.com/user/TedGreeneArchives

Cool! Thanks mate.

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[Bossie]

My top 5 guitarists...first on my list will always be Michael Schenker...and then there's a gap followed by a long list.

It's very awkward his name never pops up on a guitarsite...he almost created the hardrockgenre in a time
when Ed Van Halen was still trying to learn his first chords..inspiring thousands of guitarists like randy roads and countless others..

Very weird..

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

My top 5 guitarists...first on my list will always be Michael Schenker...and then there's a gap followed by a long list.

It's very awkward his name never pops up on a guitarsite...he almost created the hardrockgenre in a time
when Ed Van Halen was still trying to learn his first chords..inspiring thousands of guitarists like randy roads and countless others..

Very weird..

I remember studying his old video clinic but I didn't know too much about his bio. Based on your post, we should add him to the underrated list: HERE

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[SpiritCrusher]

1. Tony Iommi: The reason why I picked up the guitar. His original doom metal style is absolutely terrific. I'm addicted to Black Sabbath.
2. Yngwie Malmsteen: His ability to combine classical music and shredding.
3. Zakk Wylde: His aggressiveness is very addicting when listening to Ozzy's albums.
4. Matthew Mills: Very underrated guitarist. His style is similar to Malmsteen's
5. Jeff Loomis: Not that I listen very much to his solo albums, but the song Shouting Fire at a funeral is the best instrumental song ever written.

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