Raiderstation

This isn’t another “Rolling Stone told me what to think” list.

I built this from the ground up with one goal: to separate actual guitar ability and musical impact from myth, nostalgia, and hype. Those three matter very much for certain guitar players.

A few things I care about that most lists don’t:

Completeness matters more than any one trait
If you can only do one thing—shred, riff, or vibe—you’re not cracking the top tier. The guys at the top can do *everything*: lead, rhythm, acoustic, electric, structure, and tone.

Context matters "Aka the Joe Satriani rule"
It’s one thing to sound great when the guitar *is* the song. It’s another to fit into a band, build a track, and elevate everything around you.

Real-world execution matters "Aka the Rory Gallagher rule"
Strip away the studio tricks. One guitar, one amp, live setting—who do you trust? That’s a huge separator.

Memorability matters "Aka the Ace Frehley rule"
If people can hum your solo, you did something right. If they can’t remember it five minutes later, that tells us something too.

Identity matters "Aka the CC DeVille rule"
Some players aren’t the most technical, but the second you hear them, you know who it is. That counts.

Foundation matters—but it’s not everything. "Aka the Duanne Eddy/Les Paul rule"
Early pioneers are on the list because they made it possible. But they don’t get ranked over players who took the instrument further.

Improvisation matters—but it’s a lane, not the whole highway. "Aka the Jerry Garcia rule"

So when you see rankings you disagree with—Hendrix not #1, Santana not top 10, Rory where he is—that’s why. This isn’t about who’s most famous or who gets the most magazine covers.

It’s about: Who can do the most, across the most situations, at the highest level.

Argue it all you want, that’s half the fun. But my list is consistent with itself all the way through, and that’s what I was aiming for.

Top 100 Guitarists
1 Jimmy Page
2 Eddie Van Halen
3 Eric Clapton
4 Jeff Beck
5 Eric Johnson
6 Ry Cooder
7 Steve Vai
8 Jimi Hendrix
9 Brian May
10 Duane Allman
11 Mark Knopfler
12 Randy Rhoads
13 Buckethead
14 Yngwie Malmsteen
15 David Gilmour
16 Stevie Ray Vaughan
17 Tony Iommi
18 Ritchie Blackmore
19 Tom Scholz
20 Lindsey Buckingham
21 Slash
22 Gary Moore
23 Prince
24 Pete Townshend
25 Rory Gallagher*
26 Vito Bratta
27 Warren DeMartini
28 Neal Schon
29 Gary Richrath
30 Ace Frehley
31 Mike McCready
32 Jerry Cantrell
33 Allan Holdsworth
34 Nuno Bettencourt
35 Joe Satriani
36 Angus Young
37 K. K. Downing & Glenn Tipton
38 Phil Collen
39 Ted Nugent
40 Kenny Wayne Shepherd
41 Dimebag Darrell
42 Kirk Hammett
43 Tom Morello
44 Joe Walsh
45 Derek Trucks
46 Shawn Lane
47 Adrian Smith & Dave Murray
48 Matt Bellamy
49 Vinnie Vincent
50 Billy Gibbons
51 Alex Lifeson
52 Zakk Wylde
53 Mick Mars
54 Mick Jones
55 Mick Taylor
56 Rick Nielsen
57 George Harrison
58 Frank Hannon
59 Jeff Healey
60 Duane Eddy
61 Eddie Cochran
62 C.C. DeVille
63 Robby Krieger
64 Steve Howe
65 Keith Richards
66 Carlos Santana
67 Jake E. Lee
68 Dickey Betts
69 Nancy Wilson
70 Joe Perry
71 Tommy Shaw & James Young
72 Mick Ronson
73 Peter Green
74 The Edge
75 Dick Wagner
76 Les Paul
77 Bo Diddley
78 Jack White
79 Brian Robertson & Scott Gorham
80 Mike Campbell
81 PJ Harvey
82 Chuck Berry
83 Martin Barre
84 Allen Collins
85 Buddy Guy
86 Johnny Marr
87 Jonny Greenwood & Ed O’Brien
88 John Fogerty
89 Nile Rodgers
90 Dave Navarro
91 Kim Thayil
92 Dave Davies
93 Dave Mustaine
94 George Lynch
95 Trey Anastasio
96 Andy Summers
97 Robert Fripp
98 Jerry Garcia
99 Kerry King & Jeff Hanneman
100 Kurt Cobain

* if we go by pure ability? Rory Gallagher could arguably be at #10. And doing it live? Him again.

Hellbound wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 2:44 am Lol...Hendrix did all of that too. You're obviously super biased in this opinion. Have you ever even listened to everything that Hendrix has done? Sorry Page isn't close to being in a class of his own

Im also wondering where Terry Kath is on the list. This whole list is questionable at best

No more biased than the following that has appeared:
“This list is crap”
“Have you ever listened to X”
“Where is X player?”

As far as Hendrix, no doubt he was talented. He’s also the single most overhyped musician is the history of rock and roll. And that includes the Beatles who know a few things about hype.

Yeah I said it. Look up overhyped in the dictionary and there is Hendrix staring back.

Willmark wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:06 am No more biased than the following that has appeared:
“This list is crap”
“Have you ever listened to X”
“Where is X player?”

As far as Hendrix, no doubt he was talented. He’s also the single most overhyped musician is the history of rock and roll. And that includes the Beatles who know a few things about hype.

Yeah I said it. Look up overhyped in the dictionary and there is Hendrix staring back.

Ohhh edgy! If you can't or didn't want comments or criticism or very biased list, you shouldn't have made one. I don't like the Beatles and think they're overrated too

Look at every other list of guitarists and you'll constantly see Jimi at the top and ranked over Page every time. But have fun being edgy

Hellbound wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:17 am Ohhh edgy! If you can't or didn't want comments or criticism

Where did I say any of that? Hint I didn’t.

Hellbound wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:17 am Look at every other list of guitarists and you'll constantly see Jimi at the top and ranked over Page every time.

Yeah… I don’t really care about some other list. Mine had some very clear criteria. Others have other criteria.

Hellbound wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:17 am
But have fun being edgy

Looks like a nerve was struck. I hope you can somehow get through your day.

Willmark: “ Argue it all you want, that’s half the fun.”



I’m just following your directions my man and having fun.

Or did I pick the wrong week to quit sniffing glue again?

Willmark wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 7:20 am Where did I say any of that? Hint I didn’t.


Yeah… I don’t really care about some other list. Mine had some very clear criteria. Others have other criteria.


Looks like a nerve was struck. I hope you can somehow get through your day.

And then you said Jimi didn't meet your criteria when he clearly exceeded all of your criteria and did it ten fold over what Page did. Like I said, you're clearly biased in this and that's fine

Phil Keaggy is another missing player. Maybe not the genre that completely qualifies. And no, the rumors that Hendrix thought he was the greatest guitarist ever is false. Keaggy did not record his first album until after Jimi had passed.

As for Jimi? His style was far more improvised than many on the list. I personally would have him top three but I also think Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan would round out the top three with Eddie being in the top 5. Page being 4th. Stevie was very innovative and his shortened career aside, he was full on blues rock.

But then again, criteria aside based on the OP, I would use sheer talent and innovation as the key criteria. And writing ability would fall under talent. Stage presence is really not that big a deal to me. Make the guitar sing with a voice like no other and you capture my personal opinion. Rock at its core is simple. Use simple criteria makes sense to me. Three chord rock has a significant place.

But I am off my horse. Phil Keaggy is on my list.

Hellbound wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 8:51 am And then you said Jimi didn't meet your criteria when he clearly exceeded all of your criteria and did it ten fold over what Page did. Like I said, you're clearly biased in this and that's fine

I’m sorry for your loss.

Always an interesting discussion and debate -- from the first time Rolling Stone Magazine put out their Top 100 Guitarists list. Here are my adds and quibbles (and I read your criteria).

Hendrix HAS to be #1. He redefined the instrument. Yes, he was sloppy at times, but let's see you play guitar like that super high. I saw him live twice -- Feb 1968 and Oct 1968, both at Winterland Ballroom in SF. I can tell you -- he was supernatural and so different and so better that anything I saw before (obviously) and after.

Glad to see Peter Green make your list. But, I put him much higher. IMO, in the year 1967 he was the best in the world at blues. Check out his live stuff with John Mayall's Bluesbreaker. He was shredding before they called it shredding. Then he morphed into one of the tasty guitarists ever when he formed Fleetwood Mac. I put Green at about #20.

Richard Thompson: Missing from your list. Founding member of Fairport Convention at the age of 17 and he is still touring today. I just saw him in Napa CA , solo, acoustic and he still brings it. He is incredible on acoustic guitar and a formidable electric guitarist. One of the best I have ever seen. Top 50 player in my book, maybe top 30.

Gary Moore: Yes! sure, he could shred, but the dude had a lot of feeling in his playing. Thin Lizzy was great but his solo work after really gets to me. I never saw him live and his is now RIP

The Kings: Whoops, you omitted three of the most influential guitarists of all time. Albert King -- just ask Stevie Ray Vaughan. I saw him open for Hendrix in 1968 and he almost stole the show. BB King -- a HUGE influence on so many guitar players. He light, fine delicate and soulful notes are still being copied today. Freddie King: I saw him a couple of times and he was a get-down, tough playing innovator. Clapton and many others admired him.

Chuck Berry: You have him at just 82? There is no Keith Richards (and many others) without Berry. Plus, the way he physically handled the guitar set the stage for the next 40 years. He is a top 20 guy.

Buddy Guy: Bless him. He will be 90 years old in July and was touring up until about a year ago. He plays at his Chicago club with regularity but has retired from the road except for a few special gigs. Hendrix for one says Buddy Guy was the man. I saw him in January 1970 with BB Kings and the Allman Brothers (first West Coast appearance) and Guy tore the house down. He was fast, used feedback, had incredible sustain, etc. Ask Jimmy Page or Clapton what they thing about him. Buddy Guy is a guitar god and I must have him in the top ten.

Mike Bloomfield: I could write a lot about this guy as he was my favorite guitarist in the late 1960s. He was phenomenal with the Paul Butterfield blues band and for all of you historians you know that he played with Dylan when Dylan went electric at the Newport folk festival, and then on his album, highway 61 revisited. You knew a Bloomfield solo from the first two or three notes as they were distinctive out of his famous Les Paul, which is forever lost in guitar history. He burned out fast and got sick of being called a guitar god and disappeared into Marin County and became a heroin addict. Solo to be heard is on the song ‘Texas” on the Electric Flags first album. I am heavily influenced by the fact that I saw him live in December 1967 and he put on one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. We think he was pushed to excel that night because he was playing before BB, King, and he got to introduce BB King on the stage that night instead of Bill Graham.

Lastly, Clapton/Page/Beck: I did not see Page live but I did see the other two. IMO, Clapton was great with John Mayall, then fantastic with Cream, and then meh after. I would not put Page #1 like you have, but over the years, I have come to admire him more and more. Yes, his fast runs were often sloppy, but my god, the riffs, the style, the writing. Top ten for sure. Beck: always kind of an enigma for me. I saw him in 1972 (Winterland, SF) and was not super impressed, but I know guitar players think he walked on water. Maybe just not my style.

RunOverByHubbard wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 8:53 am
Chuck Berry: You have him at just 82? There is no Keith Richards (and many others) without Berry. Plus, the way he physically handled the guitar set the stage for the next 40 years. He is a top 20 guy.

Chuck Berry and Jim McCarty were Nugents biggest Influencers as well as BB

Xramfan wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:10 am Chuck Berry and Jim McCarty were Nugents biggest Influencers as well as BB

I saw Jim McCarty live with the Buddy Miles Express in October 1968 opening for Jimi Hendrix. Unfortunately Buddy Miles subjugated everyone in the band to his thang. I would not expect Ted Nugent to be influenced by B.B. King though, so that’s new information for me.

Attyla wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2026 9:34 am Phil Keaggy is another missing player. Maybe not the genre that completely qualifies. And no, the rumors that Hendrix thought he was the greatest guitarist ever is false. Keaggy did not record his first album until after Jimi had passed.

As for Jimi? His style was far more improvised than many on the list. I personally would have him top three but I also think Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan would round out the top three with Eddie being in the top 5. Page being 4th. Stevie was very innovative and his shortened career aside, he was full on blues rock.

But then again, criteria aside based on the OP, I would use sheer talent and innovation as the key criteria. And writing ability would fall under talent. Stage presence is really not that big a deal to me. Make the guitar sing with a voice like no other and you capture my personal opinion. Rock at its core is simple. Use simple criteria makes sense to me. Three chord rock has a significant place.

But I am off my horse. Phil Keaggy is on my list.

Speaking of who Jimi Hendrix thought was great, he said Terry Kath of Chicago was the best in the world and at that time Kath was just getting going. So why isn’t Terry Kath on this list —I think he should be.

RunOverByHubbard wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:29 am I saw Jim McCarty live with the Buddy Miles Express in October 1968 opening for Jimi Hendrix. Unfortunately Buddy Miles subjugated everyone in the band to his thang. I would not expect Ted Nugent to be influenced by B.B. King though, so that’s new information for me.

My bad, I was thinking Bo Didley and typed BB for some reason. Good catch

Xramfan wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:39 am My bad, I was thinking Bo Didley and typed BB for some reason. Good catch

There you go, makes sense. I saw Bo Diddley in a tiny club near Santa Cruz in 1972. Actually, make that 1973 as I was 21 so I could go in and see him. There were like 30 people in this place. He had his girlfriend or wife Lady Bo with him and it was a great fun show that went to the wee hours. Someday, maybe I’ll write a little book about my music experiences circa 1967 to 75, not that anyone would be that interested except for my daughter.

RunOverByHubbard wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:45 am There you go, makes sense. I saw Bo Diddley in a tiny club near Santa Cruz in 1972. Actually, make that 1973 as I was 21 so I could go in and see him. There were like 30 people in this place. He had his girlfriend or wife Lady Bo with him and it was a great fun show that went to the wee hours. Someday, maybe I’ll write a little book about my music experiences circa 1967 to 75, not that anyone would be that interested except for my daughter.

You should.

A high school buddy of mine had an older brother who was huge in the Bay Area music scene and even had his own recording studio for awhile (Xandor Studios Orinda Ca). He was a regular at Winterland and had a few of their chairs in his own studio that I used to sit in. He told some great stories he heard first hand from various artists and I wished he had written them down to share. Haven’t seen him in decades and when I did see him last, it appeared his recreational use of drugs in the 60s and 70s were catching up with him sadly.

RunOverByHubbard wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 9:38 am Speaking of who Jimi Hendrix thought was great, he said Terry Kath of Chicago was the best in the world and at that time Kath was just getting going. So why isn’t Terry Kath on this list —I think he should be.

There's several players that I mentioned that should be on the list and Kath is one of the ones I mentioned. Link Wray was another. I mean Dick Dale created an entire genre and he's not on the list
Malmsteen isn't on it either