Guitar greats (not the usual suspects!)

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I love great guitar playing and when you talk about the greats, the usual suspects generally crop up

Hendrix, Page, Beck, Santana, Garcรญa etc.

all phenomenal in their own right but what Iโ€™m looking for are your greats who may have gone under the radar. I have a few candidates in the pipeline and Iโ€™ll be adding them to the thread but I was wondering whether you might have any thoughts as well.

If you can, it would be great to see recommended albums and a YouTube clip or several would be great to see. Also, any anecdotes or stories about them would be lovely to see

Hope to get a bit of traction going. If nothing else, Iโ€™ll get to share a few of my favs if only for my own amusement
  • Quote
There's just too many to choose from, really. ๐Ÿง

Last time I made a list of my personal favorites, it looked a little different from this, mostly because I was unwilling at the time to admit that heavy metal players were any good. (Since then I've become more reasonable on the subject.) Still, several of these folks just never played music I really liked, and I haven't (and probably wouldn't) include any of their albums on a BEA chart. I still wish I could play like them, though...

I'm also not including XTC's Andy Partridge or Dave Gregory, because that would just be too obvious.

In no particular order:

Johnny Marr (Smiths, solo)
Stanley Jordan
Marnie Stern
Steve Vai
Noveller (aka Sarah Lipstate)

Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins)
Robert "Big Bob" Fripp (King Crimson)
John McGeoch (Magazine, Siouxsie, Armoury Show, PiL)
Dave Fielding (The Chameleons)
Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)

Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe, Red Noise, solo)
Steve Howe (Yes)
St. Vincent
Orianthi
Django Reinhardt

Marty Willson-Piper (The Church)
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Sophie Lloyd
Jan Akkerman (Focus)
Tommy Emmanuel

Andy Gill (Gang Of Four)
Jason Falkner (Jellyfish, Rembrandts, solo)
Charlotte Hatherley (Ash, solo)
Julian Swales (Kitchens Of Distinction)
Michael Hedges (solo on Windham Hill)

Kimberley Rew (Soft Boys, Katrina & the Waves, solo)
Charo
Brian May (Queen)
Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson's touring guitarist)
Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar, solo)
  • Quote
Scrapper Blackwell
Mississippi John Hurt
Robert Pete Williams
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam Chatmon
Son House
Elizabeth Cotten
Skip James
Bukka White
_________________
Doubles & Conch
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Some amazing guitarists already mentioned, three of my favs (biased towards music that I most listen to):

Mark Knopfler (probably my favourite contemporary guitarist)


Link


Paco De Lucรญa (from another world)


Link


Link


Prince (a little shout for Prince, very underrated/overlooked)


Link
  • Quote
Two of the absolute best solos ever, by two of the best guitarists ever:

Duane Allman
1946-1971


Link


Terry Kath
1946-1978


Link


And the great Richard Thompson. This is from a live songwriters circle. Suzanne Vega and Loudon Wainwright III look a bit uncomfortable knowing they have to follow this performance.


Link

_________________
I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
  • Quote
MadhattanJack wrote:
There's just too many to choose from, really. ๐Ÿง

Last time I made a list of my personal favorites, it looked a little different from this, mostly because I was unwilling at the time to admit that heavy metal players were any good. (Since then I've become more reasonable on the subject.) Still, several of these folks just never played music I really liked, and I haven't (and probably wouldn't) include any of their albums on a BEA chart. I still wish I could play like them, though...

I'm also not including XTC's Andy Partridge or Dave Gregory, because that would just be too obvious.

In no particular order:

Johnny Marr (Smiths, solo)
Stanley Jordan
Marnie Stern
Steve Vai
Noveller (aka Sarah Lipstate)

Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins)
Robert "Big Bob" Fripp (King Crimson)
John McGeoch (Magazine, Siouxsie, Armoury Show, PiL)
Dave Fielding (The Chameleons)
Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)

Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe, Red Noise, solo)
Steve Howe (Yes)
St. Vincent
Orianthi
Django Reinhardt

Marty Willson-Piper (The Church)
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Sophie Lloyd
Jan Akkerman (Focus)
Tommy Emmanuel

Andy Gill (Gang Of Four)
Jason Falkner (Jellyfish, Rembrandts, solo)
Charlotte Hatherley (Ash, solo)
Julian Swales (Kitchens Of Distinction)
Michael Hedges (solo on Windham Hill)

Kimberley Rew (Soft Boys, Katrina & the Waves, solo)
Charo
Brian May (Queen)
Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson's touring guitarist)
Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar, solo)


Some great picks there romanelli. I could pick quite a few hear to discuss but going to stick to a couple.

Bob Mould is a great shout. Iโ€™ve seen him live a couple of times and his playing is incendiary. Never saw him with Husker du though, which is a shame.

Jan Akkerman is another great shout.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts
  • Quote
  • ๐Ÿ‘ Hayden
Hayden wrote:
Scrapper Blackwell
Mississippi John Hurt
Robert Pete Williams
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam Chatmon
Son House
Elizabeth Cotten
Skip James
Bukka White


Hi Hayden. Some names here that Iโ€™m not familiar with so some exploring to do on my part which is what I was looking for from this thread.

Mississippi John hurt and son house are great shouts. So influential but not particularly well known outside of the blues community.
  • Quote
Some great female guitarists. Women are always underrepresented on these lists.

Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
Wendy Melvoin (Prince & The Revolution)
Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney)
Nancy Wilson (Heart)
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses)
Miki Berenyi (Lush)

And Anna Calvi
https://youtu.be/_79cP9Jql8E?si=7vUXIlqRHhrKizzb

+++++some more:Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield, Kathleen Hanna, H.E.R.
  • Quote
imacgill wrote:
Some great female guitarists. Women are always underrepresented on these lists.

Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
Wendy Melvoin (Prince & The Revolution)
Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney)
Nancy Wilson (Heart)
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses)
Miki Berenyi (Lush)

And Anna Calvi
https://youtu.be/_79cP9Jql8E?si=7vUXIlqRHhrKizzb

+++++some more:Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield, Kathleen Hanna, H.E.R.


Not to mention:

Samantha Fish
Joan Armatrading
Laura Marling
Janis Ian

And of course...

Sister Rosetta Tharpe
_________________
I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
  • Quote
  • ๐Ÿฅณ Hayden
.

Last edited by II on 08/11/2026 23:55; edited 1 time in total

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