A few of us have touched on this topic in a couple of other threads and it seems like something more than a handful of us care about so. figured i’d start a thread.
I recently mentioned Prince as an artist who’s respected but not always recognized as a guitar virtuoso.
I’m a southern boy so of course I grew up on southern rock. I was never a huge Skynyrd fan but Allen Collins was famous for Freebird and other LS songs. I believe that Duane Allman, who we lost so young, was an amazing guitarist and of course Dicky Betts is a guitar god of some repute. If you’ve never listened to the Allman Brothers’ band take a listen to the Essential Allman Brothers remastered and I think you’ll agree with my assessment of Duane.
A country artist that got famous at the Opry as well as on HeeHaw but never seemed to get the respect many believe he deserved as a guitarist was Roy Clark. The dude was a virtuoso on the acoustic but he could hold his own on an electric as well.
Who are your favorites? Any obscure guitarists that you love and think we should know about? Just please don’t say Steve Vai…hahaha…I know he’s talented but he annoys the crap outta me for some reason.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, for sure one of my favorites.
This was a super awesome cover by Five Finger Death Punch that features Kenny and and even includes Brian May (talk about a legend) rocking out a kickass solo at the end.
Angus Young, man he’s fun to watch let alone listen to
Santana, Eddie Van Halen RIP, man this list could get big!
I really enjoy listening to the first side of 2112… sooo much very cool guitar works there…
Nazerath… I do not know who the guitar guy is, but laid down some awesome riffs…
Ritchie Blackmore…
Sneezles61
We just saw that… Very nicely done…
Sneezles61
EDIT: another guy, although on a bass, that has been around a long time worth looking at his you tube stuff
Leland Sklar.
Check out Steve Rothery from Marillion. His solos send chills, similar to David Gilmour.
And Steve Hackett from old Genesis and his solo work. He is extremely creative and unique. I love his Ace of Wands but he is best known for Firth of Fifth which is my all time number one favorite song, and his solo has a lot to do with that (besides Peter Gabriel who is also a unique talent!).
Finally I can’t not mention Brad Paisley. I don’t normally listen to country, my wife got me into it some, but Brad’s guitar work is amazing. He occasionally enjoys showing off in like 128/128 time signatures, and by golly, he and his talented band hit every note. In this respect, there are vague similarities to…
Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme. Wow, I love what this guy can do with his guitar. And Gary Cherone matches with what his voice can do. Eddie Van Halen should have wished he was as good as Nuno.
EDiT: In Brad Paisley’s song Start a Band, he gives nods to Allman and Skynyrd as he sings “get you a guitar and learn how to play…”. He gives a lot of nods in a lot of songs.
Vivian Campbell… From Dio… just one hard picking’ rocker…
Pete Anderson… from Dwight Yoakum…
Mr. Gilmour is my fav… It isn’t always about speed, I really like the way the strings sound like they are whipped… Just screaming out their soul…
Billy McLaughlin… Acoustic guy… very meditative and mesmerizing melodies…
Sneezles61
I will second @sneezles61 with Gilmore for sure. @dmtaylo2 I’ll have to dig into Rothery some, see what I can find. My wife grew up on country and Brad Paisley straight cracks me up with his songs. Phenomenal talent, tons of fun live (saw him a few years back). Brad Paisley Thinks He’s Special came on after football one night last year and was an absolute blast to watch.
Frank Marino from Mahogany Rush… Canadian rock guitar player that didn’t sign on a major label… If he’s still playing…
Sneezles61
EDIT: just looked… he’s still laying down licks
Me haha my wife thinks i am crazy. Got 3 passions in life. Beer brewing. Metal music. Converse. Me can talk hours about music. Drinking a cold home brew.
I got hear Buddy Guy in person circa 1992 with a crowd of maybe 80 people. It was an awesome experience.
While not gods John Spencer Blues Explosion circa their Orange tour was a lot of fun and I love Modest Mouse and Isaac Brock
I’ve loved Modest Mouse since I first played Rock Band and got to play along with Float on. Boy that game has sat in a box for probably 10+ years at this point. . .I should get it back out and introduce my kids.
