Rolling Stone Top 100 guitarists 2011

[Hophead]

It's just a popularity contest. Comes as no surprise to me what with all the attention lately regards a Sabbath reunion..that Iommi ended up as high on the list as he did...no where near that high last year. Once again..apparently someone feels that Edge is a greater guitarist than Mark  . And Neil Young..at 17???!!!! ARE...YOU...KIDDING...ME??? . And lastly..the great Robert Johnson..the father of all modern blues...he is at 74...yup..74. Why bother

[Ingo]

For us he is #1 for sure, but if you ask other guitar players for their influences (ask pros or amateurs, doesn't matter) you will see how far up he is on verybody's list 

[superval99]

It's just a popularity contest. Comes as no surprise to me what with all the attention lately regards a Sabbath reunion..that Iommi ended up as high on the list as he did...no where near that high last year. Once again..apparently someone feels that Edge is a greater guitarist than Mark  . And Neil Young..at 17???!!!! ARE...YOU...KIDDING...ME??? . And lastly..the great Robert Johnson..the father of all modern blues...he is at 74...yup..74. Why bother

Ha!   The Edge has been playing the same old riff for about 30 years!

[Justme]

My personal bet is sooner or later Lady Gaga or Rihanna will reach RS top ten Guitarists.

No, David Hasselhoff will be #1. He deserves it. 
I'm glad that he is keeping a low profile and I imagine that he would feel quite uncomfortable if it would be the other way round.

To me it's perfect the way it is, we may even catch a place in the first rows when he is on the road. And MK isn't constantly observed by/exposed to the tabloids, so he can concentrate on what he loves to do - writing songs, recording them and touring, and, of course, taking care of his family just like the man in the street. 

[Jackal]

The list has more to do with how influential or innovative the guitarists are/have been. Even though Mark is both a talented and respected guitarist, he might not be as influential as we'd like to think he is. That's why you see people like Clapton and Kurt Cobain as high up as they are.

Too often you see these idiotic debates on youtube about "my guitar hero is better than yours" without anyone even giving a thought to what is meant by "better". In terms of technique? Ok, that's kind of quantifiable. Feeling? That's very subjective. Taste and tone? Also subjective. Degree of influence? To a certain extent possible to measure.

For Mark, on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest score, I'd give 5.5 for technical ability, 5.5 for degree of influence, 10 for feeling and 9.5 for taste and tone

[Rollergirl]

very well put Jackal. You can't measure feeling!

[koobaa]

I agree with your rating system, Jackal but I would give him 7.5 for technical ability (it is indeed ability and he has that really up high there for sure). Would be interesting to see how you would rate the great Chet Atkins in this system?

[Justme]

Very good point, Jackal!

[Pottel]

I agree with your rating system, Jackal but I would give him 7.5 for technical ability (it is indeed ability and he has that really up high there for sure). Would be interesting to see how you would rate the great Chet Atkins in this system?

agree kooba. And on that same scale satriani would get a 9'5 on ability, and an 8,5 on tone and a 7 on feeling.

[holaknopfler]

I'd give him a 10 for all

[Jackal]

Kooba, Well, I'd still say 5.5 for technical ability. For me a 10 in technical ability would be given to Steve Vai or Tommy Emmanuel. Albert Lee I'd give an 8. Again it can't be perfectly accurate, but the point is that Mark is not up there with the amazing technical wizards. Even Richard I would say is better technically than Mark, but Richard would get a 5 or 6 for feeling (by feeling I mean "emotions"). Chet I would rate 9.5 for ability, 7 for influence, 5 or 6 for feeling, 9 for taste and tone. (This is really subjective nonsense of course It's like telling which way the wind blows by sticking your finger in your mouth and then blow on it .)

[koobaa]

It may be subjective but no more than that Rolling Stone list. In fact, I think if you created such a list using your criteria it would be far more objective because you rate guitarists based on many aspects. The main thing is who should get on that list and who never should .

So, if MK is only 5.5 it means that he's only half as good (technically) as Tommy Emmanuel...?   I think Tommy should get 11 out of 10 on the technical side but I still would rate MK higher. And, you're right about Richard. He's played before and probably taught MK a few things too

[Millionaire Blues]

With respect Jackal...MK can play Tommy Emmauel under the table......Mks technical ability is incredible......Emmanuel could not play what Knopfler can play.....

[Jackal]

Millionaire,

No, that's plainly wrong. For sure Mark can play more advanced stuff than we get to hear on records and live, but having listened to a lot of different guitar players over the years, there are literally tons of players that can do what Mark does and more, even bedroom players on YouTube. Maybe not exactly how Mark does it as Mark has a very unique style, but just because it is unique doesn't make it technically advanced if you know what I mean. Mark's strength is that he is a well-rounded musician. He composes good songs, arranges them well and plays what fits the context.

As for Tommy Emmanuel, he is just a wizard. I mean, the things he can do live ... I've seen him in concert, and he has a very wide repertoire of incredibly complex and difficult tunes and he basically never hits a wrong note! I mean, he goes from Chet Atkins to Yngwie Malmsteen (well, almost) and gets it right every time. Plus, he's just one guy up there! No band to lean on. Where Tommy is lacking though is in his compositions and in that he overplays. Then again, I believe one's playing style very often reflects one's personality, and Tommy is just a totally crazy livewire, like Chet Atkins with ADHD and on speed. He just can't hold it back. Although he should ...

[holaknopfler]

Giving a 5.5 to a guitarplayer who's name is Mark Knopfler is just nonsense imho. Mark can play anything you want him to play.