40 Guitars

in re: biblioklept’s guitar heroes posts, i thought i’d do my own list, except much less in depth, informative or fun to read. these are just in alpha order as i tried to rank them very very unsuccessfully. tell me your thoughts, dear readers…and remember, this is only a list of my favorites to listen to, not who i think is more talented than jimi hendrix, who does not appear on this list…

Steve Albini - Shellac, Big Black, producer and diy-er extraordinaire. you can hear his sound stamp on virtually everything he’s involved in.
Robbie Basho – virtually any Takoma guitarist deserves to be on this list. raga 12 stringer that was much more heavily influenced by Ravi Shankar and other middle and far eastern sounds.
Sir Richard Bishop – former Sun City Girls member and now solo artist that was one of the first to spread a blend of gypsy tones into his playing, which is now highly prominent among the psychadelic folk crowd.
James Blackshaw – a true prodigy and my vote for the best and most talented 12-string guitarist recording today. so fluid and effortless and can only get better from here.
Ash Bowie – man, i just really love Polvo.
Glenn Branca – one of the real pioneers of No Wave, use of guitars in Avant Garde composition, as well as drone…just an innovator plain and simple.
Sandy Bull – sadly underappreciated fingerpicker that was ahead of his time in recording techniques. strong banjo and pedal steel player as well.
Dylan Carson – figurehead of proto-drone, proto-doom band Earth really pushed the monolithic sludge to the breaking point. the reason Stephen O’Malley and the like are around today.
Tom Carter – this should be jointly shared with bandmate Christina Carter, both of Charalambides. highly adept at country and blues as well as drone and feedback.
Ben Chasny – likely in my top 5 of guitarist playing today. frontman/member of Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire, August Born and countless other side projects. so great at mixing eastern and gypsy sounds into modern rock and folk. so good.
Jeff Cotton – oddly enough, replaced a guy that just missed this list, Ry Cooder, in Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band. primarily on here for his work on Trout Mask Replica.
John Fahey – for my money, the greatest fingerpicker to ever touch a guitar. long and varied career and really stretched his limits. love love love Fahey, from Blind Joe Death to his experiments with Cul de Sac and Jim O’Rourke.
Robert Fripp – also one of my top all-time choices. i love King Crimson. i love Eno/Fripp. i even really like Giles, Giles and Fripp. his countless contributions on other artist’s records as well make him indispensible on any top guitar list.
Tony Iommi – i consider Iommi and Sabbath as the true creators of Metal and specifically the “doom” sound. heavy, thick and black.
Glenn Jones – i’m not a huge Cul de Sac fan, but i do appreciate them, and even more so, Jones solo folk work and their Fahey collaborations.
Ira Kaplan – i guess it’s kind of obvious by now i really dig fuzz. Sugarcube is one of the finest examples of 90s rock guitar prowess IMHO.
Curt Kirkwood – go back and listen to the instrumental Meat Puppets stuff…really great guitar work. i specifically recommend Aurora Borealis and Magic Toy Missing off II.
Campbell Kneale – probably among the most prolific artists to ever record. primarily on this list for Birchville Cat Motel, his other projects are far too numerous. pretty much see the entire celebrate psi phenomenon catalog. drone master.
Leo Kottke – god i wish he wouldn’t sing. see the album 6 and 12 String Guitar for a true display of wizardry. you won’t believe it’s only one guy playing.
Michio Kurihara – i probably never had a true appreciation for the guitar until seeing Kurihara play with Damon & Naomi live. the lead for Ghost and White Heaven is truly phenomenal.
Richard Lloyd – shares this spot with Tom Verlaine. Marquee Moon is an awesome display of two guitars weaving together better than just about any in rock history. wish Television could’ve put out more.
Phil Manzanera – i may be crucified by some for saying that i’m not a Roxy Music fan. but i truly love Manzanera’s work on Brian Eno’s solo albums.
Johnny Marr – he certainly had a knack for the catchy riff.
Doug Martsch – one of my favorites. unmistakeable guitar sound and shifts from blues to rock to slide styles so seamlessly.
J Mascis – an epic soloist. Dinosaur Jr.’s sound basically influenced just about every guitar-based rock band that came after them.
Thurston Moore – along with Lee Ranaldo (later on the list) brought the avant garde tunings, modifications and experimentations to the forefront of rock music. they would rank right up there with Lloyd/Verlaine for best guitar tag team.
Bob Mould – Husker Du, at their best, could overdrive (New Day Rising) or jangle (Never Talking to You Again) with the best of them. just becoming a Sugar fan, but that shows a whole other side of Mould, while still incorporating many of the good Du traits.
Jeff Meuller – Rodan and June of 44. nuff said.
Harris Newman – pat yourself on the back if you’ve heard this guy. original these days in his blending of experimental and traditional…without skewing one way or the other. also an engineer for many of Montreal’s top indie artists.
David Pajo – i love his Slint and Tortoise guitar moments, and his solo acoustic stuff is pretty good too. great side projects as well. i can forgive him for Zwan.
Eddie Phillips – know that awesome crunchy guitar sound in Making Time from Rushmore? that’s The Creation, and that’s Eddie Phillips. was invited by Pete Townshend to join the Who but declined. used the “violin bow on guitar” method way before Jimmy Page. too bad they were too mod to last.
Prince – the guy who gives the best live performance i’ve ever seen. more soulful and more feeling in his playing than anybody i can think of. he basically wrenches the soul out of that sperm shaped guitar.
Lee Ranaldo – see Thurston Moore
Marc Ribot – one of the most criminally underrated guitarists of all-times. his flourishes on Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs, Frank’s Wild Years and Real Gone are some of my favorite sounds to ever come out of a string instrument. worked with several others including John Zorn, Elvis Costello and Arto Lindsay as well as stints in the Lounge Lizards and his own cuban-jazz based band.
Jack Rose – second only to Blackshaw in today’s fingerpicking, Rose is equally adept at traditional, Fahey-esque folk and raga as he is with drone experimentation (with Pelt.) if you seriously don’t know Jack Rose…get yourself acquainted.
Bola Sete – the master of the brazillian guitar sound. basically the django reinhardt of brazil.
Kevin Shields – fuzz, distortion and heavy shimmering. if more MBV was like Loveless…i’d like them alot more.
Steven R. Smith – most of you won’t recognize this name. he’s led psych-freak folk bands Mizra, Thuja and Hala Strana, as well as released a ton of solo work. his blend of ethnic string instruments and electric guitar is truly innovative and unlike most anything i’ve heard. if you like really stretching your ears, check this guy out.
Pete Townshend – i can’t tell you how long i was a Who-hater…but eventually (when i actually started to listen) the bombast just got to me. i now swing my arm full circle like all the other who-air-guitar-players.
Ian Williams – distinctive especially for his finger tapping techniques. i’m a big fan of Don Cab, and have come around to really enjoy Battles as well. look forward to what he does in the future.

well, there’s the list. critique as you wish.