where's wolfgang puck ?

and in the same spirit, I nominate the naval station @ bethesda as best music mag.

Jeez, John, I can't even maneuver to the list on Spin's site so aside from your conversation I have no idea who's on it. And they call it the greatest of all time? Without Hendrix? Glad John Fahey's on it. How bout Leo Kottke? Adrian Legg? The great Danny Gatton? Rodrigo y Gabriela? Johnny Ramone? The Ventures? Bob Quine? (I used to know him a little.) Leon McAuliffe from Bob Wills' Texas Playboys? Stanley Jordan? Reverend Gary Davis? Doc Watson? Jeff Beck? Les Paul, for goodness sake? Since the greatest guitar list isn't limited to guitarists, how about Aurora Nealand, the terrific NOLA soprano sax player? Wish I could see the list, because I'm just guessing here. My earliest guitar hero, from when I was a kid, was Millard Thomas who played with Harry Belafonte on all my parents' RCA LPs in the 50s. --Bill G, NYC (Sorry, posted this to the wrong place previously)

John Schaeffer's list is not much better than Spin's. Robert Fripp for example might be hot as a niche rocker, but that doesn't make him a competent guitarist in any sort of general context. That John Schaeffer doesn't know the difference, says a lot.

Take a crack at learning to play the instrument and then we'll talk. There's a lot to know. Start with Papas method and then the Segovia edition of the Sor Etudes. Try Segovia's scales for right hand technique. Try Chuck Wayne's method for plectrum and, do it with a metronome, i dare you. See Wayne again for the technology of chord voicings, that's a big deal on guitar. To open your ears try Joe Pass's books.

And, spend a few hours a day transcribing and working out fingerings for Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Jim Hall, Jimi Hendrix and whoever else you like to listen to.

After that, you get to have an opinion.

Hmm a guitar list that includes nothing but rockers. Now don't get me wrong I love a good rock song as much as anyone but country, jazz, blues, classical deserve recognition too. Spin just doesn't see anything beyond their own narrow vision as far as I'm concerned. No greatest of all time list can exclude these genres. Segovia, Carlos Santana, Sharon Isbin, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell among others. Lindsey Buckingham belongs there too. MY favorite unsung guitar heroes are Marc Brown (who played with Melissa Etheridge), Nina Gerber, and John Leventhal. All 3 are instantly recognizable on any piece they play on.

Fred Frith ...

The "senior editor" of Spin magazine is entitled to his opinions, but his knowledge of music is flawed in many ways to me. If you want to credit Sonic Youth then Glenn Branca is the person who really deserves that credit.

I guess my response is that Spin is intended to be alternative, and in that way is consistently reactive - to Rolling Stone, which aims to be definitive. So, no Hendrix or Allmans, etc, because they're so obvious, I suppose. Spin is about being cool, and being cool is about being somewhat contrary, eh?

That said, missing out Bill Frisell (and the amazing Derek Trucks) while including their peers and pals Mark Ribot and Nels Cline is beyond perverse. Then again, perversity is its own reward here, no?

Glad to see oft-overlooked (by Rolling Stone) guitarists like Johnny Marr, Josh Homme, the guys in Pavement and PJ Harvey (not to mention Beefheart's Zoot Horn Rollo, yay!) included here.

Still...Skrillex???

And biggest kudos of all for including Jimmy Nolen. Standing at the right hand of God has got to earn you some respect, right?

dwb

I learned to play guitar by listening to Ace Frehley, and could really appreciate his style on the first 8 KISS albums. Still very special to me today. While not the finest technical player, surely one of the most influential and highly recognized players. Secondarily, for his versatility and style, I must go with Michael Schenker of UFO, Scorpions, and MSG.

Don't even bother complaining about the obvious ommisions, we all know them and and you are right.This is the next "hundred greatest guitarist's". It's impossible not to know jimi hendrix but how many people don't know who Kevin Shields is? Love (and disagree) with this list, thanks spin.

If you're looking for 'new' artists for a guitar god list, you have to include GABRIEL MARIN, fretman for CONSIDER THE SOURCE one of New York's most innovative bands.
(John Schaefer--you really need to have these guys on your show!!!)

You can hear the smug arrogance of Spin's list when they call Jimi Hendrix "square" on the radio. The editors at Spin are just as useless as the Tea Party: contrary for the sake of being contrary. I don't know who they're trying to impress with their faux "alternative/underground" stance, but it's not working for me or anyone who actually appreciates music.

Randy Cascity of the group "Spirit"

Might as well have put Taylor Swift on there. She plays a six-string. Sometimes. Sort of.

I get what SPIN was trying to do, but in many ways they are just creating a alternative orthodoxy to the one they are sick of. Yeah , yeah we know that Lee and Thurston are great but, they wouldn't exist without Hendrix. There are no soaring solos, no blues influences, etc...However, the use of dissonance, effects, unorthodox playing techniques were pioneered by him. That was the take away for the experimental electric guitarists that followed him. It's not nostalgia. It's called an archetype. It's called inventing a "language". It's now a language that all electric rock guitarists speak whether they hate Hendrix or not. An evaluation of art should also be willing to acknowledge that there are some things that aren't subjective, but indeed fact. Just because so many people (of varying degrees of intelligence) agree on something in the public square, doesn't mean it's not valid. Should we evaluate be bop and ignore Bird? Talk about modern classical music and ignore Stravinsky? Rhys Chatham playing one note for 20 minutes makes him a great guitarist??!!!..NO A great composer, maybe. To be fair, in order to be good at anything it requires hard work and thought, even it does come out sounding like anyone could do it. And if anyone really thinks it's so easy to play like Thurston Moore...try it!!! I mean you too!, Mr. Weingarten.

WNYC, is Spin paying you for this publicity stunt? This seems so beneath you guys. I love your content usually, but obviously these guys at Spin are putting this list out at an attempt to seem relevant to... anything. Please, stop this circus. And stop playing into the marketing ploys of magazines.

Francis Dunnery continues to amaze

Next time you decide to do a story on some shill list designed to outrage people and generate publicity, you might ACTUALLY TRY TO HAVE A COPY IN THE STUDIO WITH YOU.

and the list itself is pure crap, who prefaces a list of the "greatest of all time" with "well, we're not including the greatest of all time in the list"

shows like this are the reason I don't give money to public radio anymore

If the list were titled:
"100 greatest overlooked guitarists" it would make perfect sense.

I can understand that spin is trying to be in contact with a youth market. However, dome of the people on the list do not even play guitar. There is also Techno and Industrial composers on the list. Given that fact, I am surprised he did not throw in Martin Atkins (drummer) from Pigface. He randomly picked people who he liked, but not realizing that they were not instrument player they thought they were. If your going to compile a list of modern and recent bands. Than there should of been a lot of guitar players that should of been left off and others added. If it was modern and recent, I would of picked Daniel Droste from Ahab; Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree; Hamish Glencross from My dying Bride as well as a few others. Spin, next time you compile a list, be more specific about what type of list, the error your looking at; and lastly put people who actually play those instruments in that list. It would be interesting to see if they do a list of best drummers and who they come up with. As a drummer and bass player and a music historian. IT would be an interesting list.

Also, you clowns forgot Billy Duffy of The Cult. He's the Punk Rock Jimmy Page. Still touring and making new music. How many "Alt" bands from the 80's, 90's, 00's can still say that? BTW, he taught Johnny Marr how to play.

Complaining that classic-rock guitar shredders aren't on the list is completely irrelevant. You obviously didn't read the assignment, kid (this means you, caller whining about the lack of Steve Vai and - puke - Joe Satriani). Obviously Spin is trying to provoke, yes, but that's how they differentiate their readership from the fossil rag that is Rolling Stone. A lot of their picks are great (Ranaldo and Moore, Howard and Harvey, Kirkwood, Sage); some are crap (Corgan, Skrillex). But you can't really get angry at them for setting a task out for themselves and then completing it, can you?

A few more:

Robert Fripp (how the hell did I forget him)
Adrien Belew
Andre Segovia (and of course his deciple Christopher Parkening)
Les Claypool (bass is of course a guitar)

Sorry if these have all been listed.

Yeah, if it is going to be a list of ALL TIME, and it doesn't have Hendrix on it, it's just BS. Yes, many of those guitarists on the list are great. And Neil Young is great, too, but he's as old as Jimi would have been, but he's not as good as Hendrix. So the argument that this is for a younger more alternative audience is just BS, too.

Andy Moor & Arnold de Boer from the Dutch band The EX
Colin Newman & Bruce Gilbert from Wire
James"Blood" Ulmer
and the master of all guitar solos: Frank Zappa

Thank you John Schaefer for bringing up Jimi Hendrix right away. Christopher Weingarten is young and I would add defensively so. He takes Hendrix for granted apparently. Or maybe he senses and resents on some level that he does not know what it was like to live in the world prior to Hendrix and then what it is like to hear Hendrix for the first time. No, he will never know what that was like. The 'experience' was startling, riveting, transforming, one we who were there will never forget. It's not clever to repudiate the past because you are living in a much less interesting time. You cannot validate your era that way. Great artists communicate outside time, and perhaps only artists talk to each other in this way. Leaving Hendrix off the list invalidates it, destroys its legitimacy.

By the way, did either Tom Verlaine and/or Richard Hell make the list? Glad someone mentioned Chris Whitley.

The way the list is presented makes it too time consuming for me to go through while here at work.

I would hope you have spots for:

Frank Black (aka Black Francis I see Kim from the Pixies there)
Bob Mould
Brian Setzer
David Gilmore (Syd Barret's replacment)

Ah John,

You took the bait. And from someone who know little about music and less about the instrument. How gullible we all are from time to time when we get lured into such arguments. Kinda like trying to argue with someone claiming that Mookie Wilson was a better center-fielder than Willie Mays.

This list isn't that bad. There's definitely some purposely-provocative garbage on here like Skrillex, some mediocre talents, some alternative pandering, and some oversight; but Duane Denison, Arto Lindsay, Keiji Haino, Dylan Carlson, Sightings guy, Greg Sage, Robbie Basho, black metal guys, Bob Quine, Branca, Albini, Ginn, Heyneman and King, Andy Gill, and Mick Barr all ought to be recognized as great, interesting, and influential players.

What a rediculous hipster-generated list! This content wasn't created for SPIN fans. It was created only to fuel controversy and promote SPIN-featured artists.

SPIN, thank you for wasting my time.

Interviewer: "What's it like to be the best guitar player in the world?"
Jimi: "I don't know man, go ask Rory Gallagher".

Get a clue hipsters. At least you included the MC5 and The Stooges.

I like a lot of choices on the list. But this is just a really sad, stupid assembly and delivery. And the guy on the radio just shouldn't be on air. He has nothing to say. And that's it. 50 words is already more than this deserves.

Lots to argue about here, and many obvious fuck-you choices, but, one thing I'll say for SPIN -- they at least managed to include Johnny Thunders on their list, in contrast to Rolling Stone mag's most recent list-making effort, which ignored him. R.I.P.

John frusciante. Elliott Smith.

y'knowy'knowy'knowy'knowy'knowy'knowy'know...oy! john--it's admirable to visit a country and attempt to speak the language, but you're not doing anyone any favors by picking up on weingarten's fratboy habits.

I really would have liked to see Loren Connors on the list. He's the most idiosyncratic guitar player around. It's magic to watch him perform. He's a legend!

What about the dude from El Ten Eleven? Or Rodrigo y Gabrielle? Are they on it?

I think, you know, that this guy, you know, should cut down, you know, on the caffeine, you know or whatever, you know, you know. I'm glad to see, you know, that buffoonery, you know, reaches far into, you know, rock journalism.

I hope Michael Karoli from CAN is on this list.

James Honeyman Scott of the Pretenders.

Robin Fiicke Nine Inch Nails and Guns and Roses

he forgot Ansel Adams and Picasso. Also great guitar players.

Adam Vida & Todd Rittmann from US Maple!

Django Reinhardt and Maybelle Carter!! Hugely great.

this dude has no clue what guitar playing is. DJs on the list?

Simply Kurt Donald Cobain

Bruce Clawson from the Dovers!!!
Way cooler than any of this stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu6Tu6VZqDk

Tom Morello continually amazes me and is a personal hero

Any country greats?
Hank Williams - Merle Haggard - Leighton Watts

What about Johnny Marr?

from now on only people who PLAY the instrument can pick the best of THAT instrument.

Nice to see Kevin Shields so high. Where's Tara Key?

Your guest, Chris W, said the word to focus on is not "guitarist" it's "SPIN". Wow, how arrogant!

If this is the case, why not leave out the word "guitarist"?

I like the idea of this list but this guys seems marginally knowledgeable about music. Also, he has a big mouth without saying much. I keep feeling John wanting to finish his inarticulate sentences.
But oh, what's this, you squashed my next thought - about hoping D Boon is on the list. I feel slightly better.

How about the Great Kat?

Wow. Christopher's need to "feel like he can do it," and the "that's too pro" attitude so prevalent these days, is what dumbs down art and music. One thing that makes music, or any art, special is that not everyone can do it, that you need to spend thousands of hours practicing to master your craft. And Skrillex isn't bad, but why put him on this list? Spin needs attention apparently. Non-musicians pretending have an important opinion. That's what we're seeing.

Please just contrast what you have been playing by playing Sunshine of Your Love by Hendrix. That will settle the matter.

he's a drummer? that explains everything. drummers usually barely know their own instrument. plus it explains why he picked boring rhythm players.

The world is in sad shape if we honestly beleive that such as Steve Vai and McLaughlen are great guitar players.

PJ HARVEY? seriously? dum dum dum.. dumdum dum.. thats guitar playing?

DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO, DEAN DELEO..!!! Kicks EVERYONE'S ASS in that least :D
>
>
And he's NOT there? Have you played any of his songs?

what about Jewel? Sara McLoughlin? this dude randomly picks WHO HE LIKES> not who is best.

You know,John, you know,you know,you know: have you ever had a more inarticulate or ignorant guest on your program--you know?

I am all for this list and I COMPLETELY agree - those 60s baby boomer idols just do not influence today. Jimi Hendrix? He died 40 years ago -- he would be 70 years old today. I know boomers have some sort of hang up about 'their generation' and how f'ing great they think they are, but no one really cares. We're over it and we're kind of over you.

No one is going to look at any list and say it's perfect, but this list at least shows off who is influencing musicians today.

Thank you, Claire, for mentioning Mary Timony on the air! Seriously one of my favorite musicians, period!

If 'the world doesn't need another greatest guitarists list with Hendrix and Clapton,' why do we need THIS list?
'Not your parent's favorite guitarists list'?
Isn't this just an attempt to be provocative for its own sake?
No disrespect to d. Boon but "shades of Ornette Coleman"?
Mr. Weingarten sounds like an apologist for an unveiled attempt at spectacle, "you know."
Judging from the listener reaction, this segment is a 'success' for Spin and for Soundcheck.

this spin dude is a clown. "the best guitarist" is someone who he feels he can play like. um best doesnt mean mediocre

In my opinion, John Schaefer is a very talented and knowledgeable show host; no questions about that. However...
his frequency of usage of "You-Know" and "I-Mean" does not correspond his talent. As I was counting such blips in SoundCheck for several years I came to the conclusion that almost all guests of the show also either suffer the same sickness or fall under host's contagion. Depending on the choice of guests the total usage of these verbal parasites ranges between 300 and 1000 just during one hour of show. This is outrageous!

As this show is being listened to by the youth, WNYC in general and SoundCheck in particular became a cultural virus infecting our society.

Sorry for such a negative comment, but someone had to say this.

Started to go through the list and stopped at 62. Not happy having to scroll and scroll. Is Jeff Beck on the list?

I agree with other comments. 100 guitarists would be a better title. But Hey, it got all of us to their website:)

jack white is an average retro guitarist at best.

the average classical or jazz guitarists crushes everyone on this list.

Marc Ribot!!

I hope Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys is on there. I haven't looked on the list. But what new influential guitar player of the retro sound. I sawy him play with Dr. John and BAM, what an artist!

Early 80s post-punk isn't exactly under-represented on this list. But if the Spin house taste is one that puts Sonic Youth first, why no Roger Miller?

Will Swan of Dance Gavin Dance.

He splashes the paint on the canvas.

He could easily kick Skrillex off the list.

Skrillex? COME ON!

Putting Skrillex on the list really does some detriment to the list's credibility.

how is the list compiled? record sales? coolness factor? why dont you get a bunch of these guys in a room and have the play the same piece, like they do with classical music auditions. greatness is easy to hear nest to mediocrity.

I rushed back to the office after hearing Sonic duo tune play. Hendrix, in his version of 'Sunshine of your Love' on Valleys of Neptune plays twice the number of notes of both Sonic's guitarists COMBINED. That tune alone buys Hendrix #1 billing.

I like the idea of this list but this guys seems marginally knowledgeable about music. Also, he has a big mouth without saying much. I keep feeling John wanting to finish his inarticulate sentences.
But oh, what's this, you squashed my next thought - about hoping D Boon is on the list. I feel slightly better.

As someone who's grown up on Spin and the alt rock that they aim to cover, I feel like this list is pretty appropriate. I don't know that I would have structured the list in quite the same way (like any list), but to see it as a compilation of artists that adhere to "alternative" rock sensibilities, I can't find much fault that some of the "guitar list" mainstays aren't here.

Glad to see the inclusion of Carrie Brownstein and Annie Clark. Finally, a list that makes sense!

The only real nonsense in this list is the implication that there is no continuity between those on the list and those left off.

And Gill from Gang of Four!!!

sonic youth? really?

How does this man keep his job?
How obnoxious and insulting to make 1#
a non musician AND leave Jimi Hendrix out!!!!!!
No wonder the state of music via an over intellectualizing
Whining Wanker!!!!!!

Is OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ there?

I don't agree with his speech, but he's good.

What about Adrian Belew from KingCrimson?

I totally agree with Chris. Is Lou reed in the top 100? I think he should be. Thanks!

Greatest? All Time? NFW Lies!

Gregg Ginn from Black Flag!!!!

Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels from the Ex are two of the most creative, interesting, and great guitar players of all time. The way they blended rhythm, texture, volume, and melody, is really something. And as far as making music that's interesting, to the point, serious, and joyful at the same time, few come close to the Ex and the Dog Faced Hermans.

What? No Vini Reilly (The Durutti Column)? You've got to be kidding!

SPIN are arrogant hipsters. Why dont they ask guitar players? Why dont they ask accredited guitarists?

Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta needs to be on that list if he isn't.

most UNDERRATED? SPRINGSTEEN. listen to the guitar solo on "ADAM RAISED A CAIN" and you'll learn why.

mike bloomfield - - had he lived he would have eclipsed them all. please play something from supersession!

Your list wouldn't include the following guitarists because it is late 60's / early 70's stuff. But 3 guitarists that deserve wider recognition: Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Paul Kossoff. I bet the Spin staff doesn't even know who they are!

This list, if seen in even five years (much less twenty) will illicit much laughter by true music heads. What a JOKE!! To hear Chris speak of Skrillex with such awe reveals his age -- Skrilly's music is on its way out, and will go the way of drum n bass sooner than later. And to compare it to the Ramones? Wow. Searching for meaning where there is none, and ignoring true art (Hendrix for instance) in the process, is a symptom of how bored everyone is with music today (yes, even the editor of SPIN). Sorry, but this segment is just dumb.

ERIC BELL ON THIN LIZZY'S "THE ROCKER"!

Oh my gosh! You guys are so clever! I guess this is why no one reads SPIN Magazine....

Ask Christopher if he or whoever is responsible has ever picked up a guitar. This would have helped them.

Listening to this, it's hard not to pin this silliness on his "generation's" often expressed tendencies towards self-congradulation and wikipedia education. It is more likely, laziness, a lack of understanding and ignorance of history pretending to be iconoclasm. Leading a "younger generation," already impressed with themselves further in this direction is a tragedy.

Can't wait to hear Spin's list of greatest pianists.

Thank you. The only thing better than recognizing the importance of sonic youth (although you lose points for not including Kim gordon), is removing the perpetually overrated middle ground lowest common denominator players off the list. The world would be a better place if no one ever played any Clapton, page, slash, et al again.

P.J. Harvey > Django Reinhardt

SPIN, your cred has fallen through the floor.

Why bother to learn an instrument and years of practice to master it, when you can just buy a laptop and some software?

Honestly, how alternate is Neil Young? He's older than the hills, he was around when Hendrix was, wasn't he? Bah!

If the list had been title "100 Great Guitarists", it would be prefectly valid.

To title it the "100 GreatEST Guitarists" is just stupid. Not much rational or critical thinking going on as Spin. There can be no list of the greatest guitarists of ALL TIME without the usual suspects on it. What kind of idiocy is this?

I'd like to see Misha Mansoor or Tosin Abasi or Fredrik Thordendal for the younger generation guitarist influences..

"worldview?" really? no hendrix, no cred. spin honestly thinks that "influence" trumps skill and range of work? please. aren't we too smart to fall for any publisher's "top 100" of any genre these days? utter malarky.

Where is Buckethead? How could he not be on a list of "alternative" guitar players?

I welcome this list. FINALLY some recognition of other great guitarists aside from the same old tired usual suspects.

And I agree with the guest. There is more to art than simple virtuosity; sometimes something simple evokes more feeling, more emotion, more impact than complexity alone.

Thurston Moore, Lee Renaldo definitely deserve their due! I don't know that I would have left Hendrix et al off the list entirely myself but it's nice to see something more geared toward "alternative", punk, etc,etc as the baby boomer generation have had a monopoly on the way this kind of subject is viewed and it's time some other much more interesting and intriguing music that is just as good (or way better in my opinion) as anything from the classic rock crowd, gets it's due.

Good going Spin!

Couple of weeks ago, read through the list and didn't recognize a lot of names. Guess w/ age, I've grown out of touch. To leave out Hendrix? That's crazy. They did include Syd Barrett who does belong to be there being the first to use many guitar effects.

Spin's thinking outside the box on this one, and that's OK w/ me.

If SPIN included all the classic rock guys and other obvious rock guitar choices in their list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time, it would make for one very boring list. However, it sounds like SPIN is desperately clinging to relevance by publishing a provocative list of guitar heroes without including some of the classics like Hendrix or Clapton. I've read SPIN since 1988, and this may be their biggest stretch yet.

Wow. This guy is arrogant.

The list is awful.

Having DJs on this list would be like including an engineer or producer.

Is anyone at Spin competent at playing any instrument?

The list does in fact "dis" anyone who every learned to play the instrument as well as some hundreds of years of those who went so far as to master the instrument.

I just love that this list is so different from the usual lists I see. I, for one, find Clapton boring (but then again, I am not that into Sonic Youth, either--I prefer early Swans when it comes to the early '80s scene). I am more than pleased to see Justin Broadrick get some due for his craftmanship as a musician, though I would have liked to see Annie Clark placed much higher.

I'm also happy to see Ali Farka Toure and Jam Master Jay included.

to be fair,and i have no reason to want to be;the list seems to deal with new school people, much much more, than the old greats.

Pretentious. Why not just call it something else? Dudes are even playing guitar. Where the fuck is Django Reinhardt in that list?

It's too much of a jump.

"It's SPIN" - so you are just doing this to make a promobomb?

Hipster alternative B.S.! Get a life!

one of my favorite guitarists is the talented and versatile richard thompson. while being interviewed and being asked if he was impressed at a major guitar magazine listing him as #18 among the top 25 he quipped that he was still 1 number behind the seventeenth best shredder, slash. nuff said!

No Michael Bloomfield? Clarence White? Jerry? I'm guessing this is more a list to validate today's music than pick great guitarists.

I'm turning off my radio. I'm not giving this guy the benefit of wasting one more minute of my time.

what, no Chris Whitley???!!! If anyone galvanized the traditions of blues/rock and finding new ground it was this guy. Mainly thru the dobro guitar he formed new ground and challenged traditions. His untimely death is unfortunate, but he doesn't make it? hmmmmmm

Who are these people who make up these "lists" and why are they given air time at all? This is absurd WAY beyond the ridiculous!

If Chet Atkins isn't at the top of any list of the greatest guitarists, then that list isn't worth the paper it's written on. And I hope Django Rheinhard is on it at least!

I havent seen the list yet, i will assume Hendrix, Page, Van Halen, Gilmour,and Slash may have all made the top 10, however Prince seems to be completely underrated. listening to him play on my guitar gently weeps is mind blowing, Prince belongs with the all time guitar greats.

I haven't checked out list but I'll bet like other guitar lists it neglects black shredders, Tony Macalpine, Dwayne 'Blackbird' McKnight, Jesse Johnson and most always leaves out Jimi Hendrix's protoge Ernie Isley.

This list should really be called "Here Are 100 Guitarists (and One DJ) Some of Us at Spin Really Like and We Think You Should Check Out."

@Dave from Michigan
I think I saw Zappa somewhere around #16

I'll give them some credit for being provocative, but the unavoidable fact is that this is an utterly absurd list, even if you're only talking about rockers! Never mind all the great acoustic players - any list of guitarists that doesn't include Clarence White can't possibly be taken seriously.

eww bad list, no Frank Zappa? The man was self taught and brilliant in anything he composed. Ian Mackaye mostly played bass. Lydia played guitar. I remember seeing Teenage Jesus and the Freaks she was horrible and just stood there holding it (I am showing my age). ACK!! Let's face it, this list was compiled by someone who was into the faux Goth music lifestyle, (they could pick out a Bauhaus and Specimen song, but have no clue about Daargard and others that are really into the genre). Almost every single guitar player are all recent and without skills. Ronson is a good guitar player, but if you are going to include him, you need to include East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedy's, since he was the first pioneer of the echo playing sound. In fact, Ronson and Kristy Wallace (The Cramps) said in interviews, they look up to Ray as a mentor. Given the fact that this list is mostly all newer players, whose skills are very limited, and leaving out Zappa shows that spin has no clue of what a good guitar player is or how one develops. Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore was a good pick, but not at number one, but in the top ten. It is also strange to see J. Mascis and not Mark Kozelek from Red House Painters. What a horrible list! Also, where is Hendrix and Page, Son House as well as others?

"Spin" seems to have a peculiar idea of what it means to be a great guitarist. Perhaps for Spin it has nothing to do with being an accomplished guitarist. Watever it is, it seems to not extend past their own narrow musical milieu. How can any list of great guitarists, not qualified by genre, not include Andre Segovia, Wes Montgomery, and Jimmmy Hendrix? And what about Parkening? Green? Betts? Elf? Malone?