Rolling Stone Top 250 Guitarists - 2023 edition

Clapton at 35 is ridiculous. He's at least top 10. Interesting that they seem cool with Jimmy Page and Chuck Berry though despite their scandals.

Steve Vai at 127

Missing: Dave Mustaine/Marty Friedman, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen...

* Also fairly funny The Runaways get both guitar players in - and who could barely play tbh - though I guess Lita Ford is there for her later Metal shit

* Motorhead can't get Fast Eddie in though he influenced almost every Metal / Hard Rock / Punk player on the list or who used speed (literally and in his playing, um)

* Since we can all agree Clapton got rooked this is one of my fave solos by anybody- and solos aren't my thing - and my favorite Clapton solo - actually all of them are soloing at the same time ffs

Pretty standard list (I suppose a relief given all the music hot takes these days) although as with singers you have to talk about what criterion you're using. I don't know that Chuck Berry is that technically proficient of a guitarist compared to some of these other people but with him it's just about how enormously influential his style was on both the classic rock guys and the abrasive alternative and punk stuff later on. On the other hand John McLaughlin is clearly the most technically proficient guitarist here in terms of "playing notes" (yes, more than Hendrix and Paige) so why isn't he higher if that's the criterion and why aren't more jazz guitarists here. They really should have limited it to rock guitarists instead of sticking one token jazz guitarist in the middle of the list. 

Although there is some forced diversity, Joni Mitchell in the top ten specifically as a guitarist is pretty WTF inducing especially when there are better options for women rock guitarists if they just had to have one in the top ten. Wouldn't have really complained if it had been Carrie Brownstein or especially St. Vincent up there, who also doesn't really "shred" but has some of the best tone I've ever heard especially live. 

Everyone knows I'm a huge Beatles fan but I have no idea why Harrison always ends up so high on lists like this. Great songwriters but none of them were anything special at playing their instruments. Similar deal with Mitchell where it's someone being put on there for being a great artist and not skill at guitar. 

I would have had a lot of the noise rock guys like Thurston Moore, J Mascis, and Jonny Greenwood (on The Bends and parts of Ok Computer) a lot higher but that's a personal preference thing. 

That solo’s great – the heavy vibrato gives it a cool nervous energy - but I’m a sucker for how Clapton uses the wah-wah pedal, so it’s hard to top White Room for me...