Saw this letter on another forum.... seems people are getting really worked up about the list but of course any magazine that has the Olsen Twins on it's cover loses all credibility when it comes to naming the top 100 guitar players.....
I emailed this to rolling stone, or should I say, rolling choad. Let's see if I get a response. Enjoy
After seeing your list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, I think
you need to re-evaluate the way you go about lists in the future. I have
seen many guitar listings before, and although listing can be subjective,
out of all the lists I have seen, yours is by far the worst one ever.
That's an understatement. To be honest, it is a piece of trash. I think
you really missed the mark, pooling the wrong audience knowledgeable
enough to make a decent list. Who did you pool to, apparent to the results
I am guessing mainly the younger generation, who I might add are being led
like sheep in a monopolistic like fashion from our dear record companies.
Half of the new music released today sucks, period. That is not me being
closed minded either. As a musician of 11 years, working hard, practicing,
studying the art of music, I have a pretty good sense of something that
takes talent, and creativeness to make. But this list of the so called
greatest 100 is downright horrid. There are a few deserving candidates on
the list, after looking it over, I'd say about 37 of them. But come on.
Number one black flag(and know I am not the first or last to complain of
this one)Eddie Van Halen #70? That is plain ridiculous. When you look at
Hendrix #1. I agree, he did so much for the instrument in so many ways of
innovation, but when Ed came onto the scene, he changed the face of rock
guitar forever. You can not deny that, and many believe, he had the
biggest impact on the instrument next to Hendrix. How does someone like
that get ranked at #70? Oh I know how, when you pool a bunch of kids
age13-17 who think the sorry excuse for 70's punk revival(aka The White
Stripes)are musical gods. I have heard their stuff, and to be honest,
there is nothing spectacular about it at all, except for there are only 2
people. Which 2 people in a studio can go along way. Think about it, he
was ranked #17, and any guitarist who has at least a year's worth of
experience would agree that he shouldn't even be mentioned at all in this
list. Use your head folks, when you hear the phrase "Greatest Guitarists"
I really don't think Jack White pops into you head before Hendrix, Page,
Clapton, Van Halen, Blackmore(#55 what is that?), Gilmour(#86). There were
tons of brilliant players that weren't even on the list. To name a few;
Chet Atkins, Al Dimeola, Alan Holdsworth, Steve Hackett, Daryl Stuermer,
John Petrucci, Prince(actually a very good guitarist, best kept secret)
Gary Moore, John Lee hooker, Slash, Eric Johnson, Ted Nugent, Steve Vai,
Joe Satriani, Bonnie Rait, Yngwie Malmsteen, Billy Gibbons, Alex Lifeson,
Django Reinhardt, Pat Metheny, Brian Setzer. I think I have stated my
case. Next time you do a list like this, I suggest you poll musicians, and
songwriters mainly, who have a much better sense of things.
