Okay who likes Government Mule?

[freedom]

Angus is an awesome guitar player. Maybe not the best ever, but real good either way. Now, if he had said CC DeVille....
Gilmore has one of the best guitar tones. His playing is very good, his ear for guitar tone is great.
There is no such thing as a greatest guitar player. Only opinions. It is very subjective.

You're right about it being subjective to a certain extent. I love Angus Young, but he isn't great under any metric. He said the best ever, living or dead. While who's the best might not ever be determined, figuring out who ain't should be quite easy, at least till it narrows down quite a bit.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

I don't hate on Gilmore, but calling someone the best ever when teenagers, including me, could play passable imitations after a year or two when there are players out there like Danny Gatton that 99.9% of guitarists are never able to imitate is crazy. It's not as bad as saying Angus Young is the best ever, but it's close.

Well I guess I'm going buy who I could stand to listen to at length solo and or unplugged. I've seen guys that were fast and fancy like Eddie Van Halen but you can only take so much of that. I saw Yngwie Mainstream get booed off stage at the Omni when he opened for Maiden in the late 80s. I've seen Steve Vai with David Lee Roth and he's good,damn good. But none of those guys have a playing style that I would enjoy ala carte. I (used to) like Angus a lot but the whole band should just give it up. But Let there Be Rock is still damn good as is Jailbreak and If You Want Blood. And when I saw AC\DC Angus had a hell of a stage presence. Kinda like Tony Iommi. He used to look the coolest on stage with that black SG and long black hair. My wife asked if I grow my mustache down both sides of my chin to look like Lemmy. After I told her NOBODY can look like Lemmy I told her I actually got the idea from Tony Iommi.
Anyway I'm sidetracked here. My only real point is that there's only a few pickers that I could listen to solo at length and Gilmore is one of them.

 

[troutman]

C'mon man, everybody knows Nuno Bettencourt is the greatest guitarist EVER!

 

[MRH]

You're right about it being subjective to a certain extent. I love Angus Young, but he isn't great under any metric. He said the best ever, living or dead. While who's the best might not ever be determined, figuring out who ain't should be quite easy, at least till it narrows down quite a bit.

He certainly has perimeters that he works within, but he is very good inside his box.
For the record I have never, and never will say Angus is among the greatest.
I have no argument. I just enjoy talking guitars and playing.
All genre's of music have their masters.
There are many great guitar players that we will never hear.
I could not begin to name the best guitar player of any genre. Each genre has many greats. Though there are some upper top tier players who get the recorgnition.
It is pretty much impossible for a guitarist to reach the absolute pinnacle of greatest.
I have favorites. That's the ultimate test. It is supposed to be pleasing to the ears.
There are guys who play incredibly well who I don't care to listen to, and more average players who sound good to me. I guess it depends on the song being played.
The songs are what the music is all about. If the song is great enough, average players can make it a hit.
Sometimes the melody itself is enough to make it a hit.
I'm rambling.

 

[colts]

Warren Haynes is awesome. I have seen him with Mule and ABs. Yeah, apples to oranges in comparison. Warrens Southern bluesy riffs or Gilmores haunting, reverb soaked bends. They are both great but different. Angus Youngs three chord anthems are recognized by people around the globe. That's pretty great. The eternal question, who is the greatest ever? There are so many greats, ear of the beholder would be easiest answer. "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." RUSH

 

[sublimebeer]

Saw them a few times live when they would come to Athens.