Jimi Hendrix is definatley the best guitarist ever. Do you agree? If not, who do you think is?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 48
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Randy Rhoades was better than Hendrix. Jimmy Page probably was as well.
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Carlos Santana, he plays so smoothly
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Stevie Ray Vaughn,Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton are my top three.
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it is very true that you agree that jimi hendrix is and that is the key to what you have asked "is" the truth of the matter there was a time that jimi was the best. That being said the guitarists of his time that are still playing and alive are in their 60s moving steadily toward 70 they picked on since september 1970 and continued to move forward and may never reach jimi's plateo but still moving forward and learning. The tragedy of it all is that no mater what jimi's music never changed. And that truth bothers every one who has ever listend to his unique virtuistic sound.
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Hendrix is up there, but really would place my vote on Brad Paisley. You don't have to be old or classic to be the best, right?
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Best, no. Most influential, yes. The way he changed guitar playing was untouchable but i have a few that i would put above Hendrix: Dimebag, Kirk Hammett, Tony Iommi, Rhoads, Dave Mustaine, the dudes from maiden, and Jimmy Page
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This is coming from a student at Berklee College of Music. Jimi was, is, and will probably always be the best person ever to have touched the instrument. What people don't understand, is that what makes a good musician is more than chops. Sure, there are a ton of guitarists around today that could shred Jimi under the table (Vai, Satch, Yngwie, Dimebag, the list goes on), but no one had as deep a connection with the instrument as Hendrix. He had it all down, from melodic phrasing, to chord voicings, tone, and even a good stage show. I teach kids how to play and I often find myself saying this to my guitar students... "The more you learn about the guitar, the more you can appreciate how brilliant a guitarist Jimi Hendrix was." If you disagree with me on that, you can't deny that he was the most influential guitarist ever.
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I agree!
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jimi hendrix is deffinitly not the best the top three are deffinitly eddie van halen, stevie ray vaughn, and eric clapton
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Jimi was great, no doubt. But nobody is the best at anything. There is always someone who does something better. Yes he did this and that better than anybody but there were thing he was not very good at too. There will never be another Jimi but for that matter there will never be another________. Just put in about 1000 guitar players in there. BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Clapton, Page, Beck, Van Halen and about 1000 other Jazz players, classical players, blues players, rock, country and on and on.
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jimi hendrix . words cant say how he plays just listen and enjoy simply the best . I have heard loads of other guitarist ( vai/ santana/van halen/rhodes/) and about 50 more that i was told could match jimi please dont make me laught. Jimi is the guitar. he doesent just play it .
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Randy Rhoads, Eric Clapton, maybe the INVENTOR of the riff Tony Iommi, Mark Knoplfer, Paul Gilbert, The motor city mad man, Gary Rossington, Eddie, Vai, SRV, Zakk Wylde, Dime, But innovation wise hendrix is at the top
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Carlos Santana!
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No. Music is not a 'sporting' event. You are thinking about music in the wrong way. It can take many years to realize this, but eventually, I hope you will.
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There really is no "best". Once to get to the upper echelons of musical ability, saying who's the best is a pointless endeavour. I doubt the original poster has ever heard Pat Martino or Reg Schwaeger or Lorne Lofsky or Jimmy Raney. Hendrix was certainly more influential, but there are things that the players I mentioned did that Hendrix wouldn't be able to do, and things they know about music that Hendrix had not yet figured out.
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Jimi got a little to dirty for me. My list includes, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Buddy King, Freddie King, Jimmie Page, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Gary Moore. That's the short list.
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Do you mean the best rock guitarist ever? How can you compare Hendrix to classical great Andres Segovia or flamenco great Sabicas or jazz great Jimmy Bruno or blues greats Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn? For rock, I'd say he was right up there with Gary Moore, Peter Greene, Carlos Santana, Steve Vai and Jeff Beck, but the ones I mention were more tuned into the music and Hendrix was more tuned into the feeling. He was more like an artist holding a guitar rather than a paintbrush. I don't think he had the musical ability of any of those I mention, but he was so full of feeling that this made up for it.
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i agree totally
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Steve Vai! love his music.
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I think it's a matter of style. I prefer Eric Clapton. If you love the style of Jimi Hendrix, I think it's great. I was really into him for awhile back in high school when he was still alive. You should also listen to some of the flamingo guitarists from Spain. They are truly great in their style, too.
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Jimi Hendrix was good, but in my opinion, Stevie Ray Vaughn was a better guitarist. His rendition of 'Little Wing" is off the hook!
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I have always enjoyed Jimi Hendrix wild ways with a guitar, but Eric Clapton remains my first choice or is it Stevie Ray Vaughn or maybe Santana. I'm torn.
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Technically it's confirmed that it was Jason Becker. But I would choose Matt Heafy from Trivium.
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my vote would be out of eddie van halen or santana and eric clapton but thats just my opinion =)
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Slash. He don't play. These wanna be's arnt even in his league.
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I like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Also Larry "Ler" from Primus. There are a few other really awsome guitarists out there but I am having a brain fart at the moment. If I think of any others I'll edit.
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No. I wouldn't say that. I'd say that Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Kirk Hammett are better. There are others but those would be my top three.
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As a 56 year old lady that actuall saw him live, I will agree to that very much.
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He was a great guitarist. But then, so was Frank Zappa.
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in my ears, Santana, beautiful music, beautifil music.
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My favorite guitarist, Joe Satriani (once described as "A guitar hero's guitar hero), was asked a similar question once. He replied (inexact quote) "Hendrix was the original. He is the giant upon whose shoulders all of us are standing". If a talent like Satriani says that Hendrix was the best, I am loath to argue with him. . . .
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I don't know who is the best guitarist ever, but Jimi Hendrix was surely one of the best.
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Hendrix may have been a great guitar player and showman but his selfish abuse of narcotics deprived his fans and the music world at large of decades amazing musical potential. I don't believe that there is such a thing as a "best" guitarist, but I do believe that a performer's character detracts from his artistry. In that I find Hendrix to be a very poor guitarist indeed.
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I'm sure all of the quitarists mentioned are awesome, though I haven't heard of alot of them. I hold a talented guitarist in such high esteem, that it would be impossible for me to ever attempt that judgement.
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I don't think any instrument can have a "best". I bet there at least 100 "bests" and from all music genres.
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the worlds best guitarist is proboley sitting in a bassment someware plucking away crazy like on a beat up six string, totaly indifrent to the fact that he's "the best"
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Herman Li.
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He was and still is in my book.
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There have been many great guitarists and Hendrix is definately one of the best, but Brian May is my favourite x
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There is no doubt he was the greatest guitar player of all time. He played so powerful yet he could be melodic. He influenced the musical genera of Rock,Jazz,FunK,Jazz-Rock. Such a shame he left when he did as he was preparing to do an Album with Miles Davis totally unheard of at that time,yet common place for artists like that to get together now. There are many guitarists who are technically stronger than Jimi,remember he couldn't read music,but no one and I mean NO ONE has ever been able to do with a guitar what the great Master Jimi has. Harv-C
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I don't think there is a best. It depends on the genre. I am sure there are deathcore guitarists out there that can go through a song much better than hendrix.
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Michael Nesmith
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Jimi was great no doubt but i think Eddie Van Halen surpassed him with Eruption possibly randy roads also just my opinion
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"Best" is a relative term. With that said, I prefer Eric Clapton.
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I don't agree. Jimi was good at the type of music He played. He was unique. His version of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock was pretty cool. But Jimi was not very polished. His was a fast, almost rough style of guitar playing that was an outlet for the churning emotions inside. I liked alot of his music, but not all. Phil Keaggy is one of THE finest musicains around. When He plays guitar, it is absolutly amazing to see. His fingering is spot on, and His tunes / songs are very inspiring. I also think that Clapton is good, and I should mention Tommy Emmanuel. Check Him out, He is real good.
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I like Santana
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Jimi Hendrix is one of, if not the best. Agreed.
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No, the best guitarist ever was Andres Segovia. For rock, probably Steve Vai and Carlos Santana, for blues, I would pick Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton, and for jazz, Jimmy Bruno and Joe Pass. Hendrix never really showed me all that much. I like his songs because they are unique and a good example of the creativity of a psychedelic drug influenced society, but not because he was a great player. He wasn't bad, but there are many that are better.
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