Your Opinion: What are the Greatest Guitar songs of all time
 

Rolling Stone magazine has published its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All-Time," and classic rock dominates the chart. Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" tops the list, with the remainder of the Top 10 featuring nine songs recorded before 1980. (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is the lone exception.) Eric Clapton is the lead guitarist on four of the 100 songs -- as a member of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Cream and Derek and the Dominos.
Purple Haze by Hendrix came in at #2


See the entire top 100 list here: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/cov...0947527/page/1

The question is, what great guitar songs do you think should be in the top 10 of that list?

What song should be #1?

I would like to see the list, but clicking through 41 pages(are they fucking kidding?) is not on my list of things to do this morning.

I'm more concerned with the top 10, which is only a few clicks.

Not a big imposition.

Smoke on the water

oh man what bullshit fucking list

Not the same list I would have come up with.

I''ll check that out but one that always impressed me was the original "Layla" from Derek and The Dominos, the accoustic version is a killer too.

In no particular order:
Battery
Dust in the Wind
IdleWild
Carlos Santana (couldn't narrow it down)

And if bass guitar counts would have to add something by Getty Lee and Primus

I know its not 10 but its all I got right now.

Gah! How the fuck did the White Stripes rank in there... whoever made this list isn't a guitarist for certain. Where the fuck is Hotel California?

Well, Jack White is awesome, but that song is NO indication as to how fucking great he is. The songs that are picked for general airplay for the masses give you no idea of how this dude can shred. I've seen them live 2 times and had my fucking brain seared.

But with that song, the Stripes do not belong on this list.

White Stripes legendary performance on Conan

Watch this vid to see Jack White at his best. Especially the last minute.

and this one

Jimmy Page - Bron-Yr-Aur

Deep purple - Child in time
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BJCTrolF3CY

wow tool doesn't make the list until 100???

way too many to list. But cliffs of dover was always a favorite of mine

Geddy Lee and Les Claypool are a great choice, reminds me on the good days, what's Les doin these days?

I know he was into a couple projects, in a band with Stewart Copeland and the guy from Fish - Trey Anastasio was his name I suppose..then I kind of lost track..

Do they have a Primus reunion or something?

Was a massive fan of Tim Alexander, he and Les were the ultimate rhytm duo of the 90's.

much pages there..:)

You just earned yourself several huge respect notches for that one. :thumbsup

stairway

Just like I thought, the rolling stone list is completely boned up.

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep em coming.

What would be your #1 overall, of all time, great guitar songs to top that list?

full list on one page: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/cov...947527/page/41

I love Clapton and Allman on "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" by Derek and the Dominoes

Some of you guys are listing some great guitar songs, but would you put those as #1 on the list? Or are they just songs you think should be in the top 100.

Mention them, absolutely, but also (if you can) tell me what you think the #1 song should be.

Ah these kinds of lists always spark praise and outrage, lol. It's 100% subjective. I think they list 100 so as to include at least 1 that the reader can agree with.
If Hendrix, SRV, VanHalen, Clapton, Rhoads and entirely too many others to name are on the list somewhere, thats all that counts.

My #1 would be Benny Goodman's "7 Come 11" with Charlie Christian on guitar. (This has no place on the Rolling Stone list, because their list is clearly limited to rock guitar.... I'm interpreting this thread's question to include styles other than rock).

My rationale for this choice is that the solo on that song is one of the earliest examples of what one can call a "guitar solo" in the modern sense. That solo was hugely influential on a generation of players who in turn inspired thousands of lead players, who in turn inspired thousands more... and so on and so forth.

As for what is the greatest guitar song solely based on the excellence of the guitar playing, that's a very tough choice. I'm partial to great fingerstyle players, so a few that I'd have to put right up there are Phil DeGruy's version of "Clair de Lune," Lenny Breau's "Ebony Queen/Pam's Pad," and Tuck Andress' "Manonash."

- Q.

Some omissions that make me sad

Cherub Rock -- Smashing Pumpkins





Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson
This is actually not Eric Johnson, but she's nicer to look at.



And the greatest band of all time

I'm partial to SRV's instrumental version of Little Wing

Tom Scholtz is one of the greatest guitarists ever, and is always underrated when people are out compiling these "lists".

The guy hardly ever gets mentioned in threads about guitarists in fact... except by me. And now you.

What about Dragon Force "Through The Fire And Flames"?




;-))

the list doesn't seem too bad, but Free Bird at #64 seems way off, considering the number of weak songs before it.

Tough to tell, Tool is probably gonna be making lists in a couple of years.

I don't think they could be clasiffied as guitar music easily though, their arrangements, drumming, concepts make them tough to classify.

I agree it's fast, but that's all it is, fast playing. Being a guitarist there's more to it than just playing at a million miles per hour.

Yup. As Charlie Hunter once put it: "Playing fast doesn't make you a great musician any more than typing fast makes you a great writer."

54. "Little Wing" Stevie Ray Vaughan (1991) - Gimme a break.. he should be in at least the top 15 with several of his songs. Glad Zep is in the top 10.

They should have called this the most "recognized Guitar riffs" not the greatest Guitar songs.

Cliffs of dover should be there and Journeys I'll be alright without you.

True. Out of 100 songs only a fraction are what I would consider truly "great guitar songs".

Prince - Purple Rain

Sabbath - War Pigs

STP -anything almost

and one only the artist formerly known as KickassVick will know....

Play Don't Worry by Mick Ronson - David Bowies' 1st lead guitarist
\
-

I totally concur if we would speak about real guitar you would have to add in a whole bunch of Johnny Winter for example..

Yet I am sure that someone like John McLaughlin would be still probably able to beat all the metal gods in fast playing ..

I like some of McLaughlin's stuff immensely, especially the live Shakti album. I'm consistently amazed by how clear and forceful he makes each note playing at that velocity, and how natural the interplay is between McLaughlin and the tabla players... simply amazing.

It has been said many times in this thread, and it's true -- at the end of the day it is all subjective. We like what we like, and that's what we think is "good." I give respect to the great players that I don't like the music of, which includes a lot of the metal/shred players... I don't happen to like what they do, but I can still recognize that they do it very well.

Master of Puppets

It made #33 on the list. Do you think it should have been #1?



Is anyone familiar with the tune "Congo Square" by Great White? Some damn fine pickin' on that song.

Any Frampton fans? "Do you feel like we do" should have made the list, I can see several tunes that made it that I would replace with that.

I think the purpose of this is basically to satisfy some of the readers, do a bit of contraversy and initiate a discussion among even more of them and eventually make a part of them check for something they never looked into (older, different style or more rare stuff).

So even it may be totally off target it's always amusing.

pantera cemetery gates :GFYBand

Spot on, I'm sure.

- Q.

summer song - joesat

so many great players and songs, enjoy them all

Rush 2112