Mojo's top ten guitarists from 1996

Neill

Working my way through some old magazines I found an edition of Mojo from 1996 in which they listed what the collective wisdom thought were the "100 greatest guitarists of all time".

This was pre internet of course and Mojo being a top selling magazine I remember it caused a bit of a stir at the time on the airwaves, and prompted quite a bit of irate correspondence...  

FWIW the top ten were:

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Steve Cropper
3. Peter Green
4. Keith Richards
5. Chuck Berry
6. Eric Clapton
7. Jimmy Page
8. T Bone Walker
9. Neil Young
10. Richard Thompson

I don't particularly agree with the final choice, but I was trying to think who would have come into the reckoning in the 25 years since the list was complied, either because of their growing influence on guitar music, or because they simply weren't around in 1996.  Have to admit I was struggling.  Jack White maybe, Derek Trucks..?

So is there anyone who you would say has come to the fore on the last quarter century as a genuine top ten "of all time" contender?

hollywoodrox

No EVH, Lynch ,Slash ,Joe Perry ,vai, Gilbert ,Rhoads ,satriani or malmsteen 
  That list is not worth the toilet paper it’s written on. But then again it about fits the magazine that published it 

Hick81

Keith Richards isn’t even the best guitarist in the Rolling Stones 

EricTheWeary

Nice to see T Bone Walker in there, certainly one of the most important electric guitarists and often overlooked. Depends how you define great of course. 

Slash'N'burn

No Noel Gallagher?  FFS....

wesker123

Slash'N'burn said:

No Noel Gallagher?  FFS....

Johnny Marr way better. 

Whistler

What do we mean by the best? Players that influenced so many others, ones that new players should be listening to? Players that changed the landscape, direction or use of the guitar? The most technically proficient? Those whose guitars sing, creating effective, emotive expression? The most all-round players, covering many genres proficiently?

stickyfiddle

When it comes to guitar magazine lists they usually mean "most famous blue-based players with a couple of token exceptions thrown in so we can update the list in another 2 years".

axisus

Looks a bit of a tired old list even for 96 - no offence to the excellent guitarists mentioned. When I saw 'Mojo' my brain triggered an auto response of 'no interest in what they think', I think my brain was right on this occasion. 

ICBM

Are you sure it's not a typo for 1976?

Neill

axisus said:

Looks a bit of a tired old list even for 96 - no offence to the excellent guitarists mentioned. When I saw 'Mojo' my brain triggered an auto response of 'no interest in what they think', I think my brain was right on this occasion. 

Well that was really the point of the thread... I'll admit to being pretty out of touch but even so I'm not aware of anyone in the last 25 years that has really shook the world of guitar playing like, for example Jimi Hendrix, or Chuck Berry.  

That's my definition of a "great" guitarist, it's someone who comes along and creates an impact because they're doing something no-one else has done, and it leaves an enduring legacy.   

This eliminates scores of popular widdlemeisters, I hesitate to name names 'cos I know I'm going to get flamed, but it also casts some doubt on the likes of Steve Cropper who I admire but second greatest guitarist ever..?   Guys like BB King, Johnny Marr and Eddie Van Halen have had a much greater impact on the guitar music scene and by a long way.  I'd even put Joni Mitchell up there. 

I mentioned Jack White and Derek Trucks, but I'm not sure either of them will be talked about in another 25 years, there's guys like John Mayer who apparently it is illegal not to like, but leaves me cold.  Annie Clark I find very interesting, but she's too "theatrical" to be taken seriously, her namesake Gary Clark is also interesting but combining different influences still isn't doing anything new.   

 

  

EricTheWeary

ICBM said:

Are you sure it's not a typo for 1976?

If 1996 had been a typo for 1969 I think that list would have made more sense. 

Hick81

Neill said:

axisus said:

Looks a bit of a tired old list even for 96 - no offence to the excellent guitarists mentioned. When I saw 'Mojo' my brain triggered an auto response of 'no interest in what they think', I think my brain was right on this occasion. 

Well that was really the point of the thread... I'll admit to being pretty out of touch but even so I'm not aware of anyone in the last 25 years that has really shook the world of guitar playing like, for example Jimi Hendrix, or Chuck Berry.  

That's my definition of a "great" guitarist, it's someone who comes along and creates an impact because they're doing something no-one else has done, and it leaves an enduring legacy.   

This eliminates scores of popular widdlemeisters, I hesitate to name names 'cos I know I'm going to get flamed, but it also casts some doubt on the likes of Steve Cropper who I admire but second greatest guitarist ever..?   Guys like BB King, Johnny Marr and Eddie Van Halen have had a much greater impact on the guitar music scene and by a long way.  I'd even put Joni Mitchell up there. 

I mentioned Jack White and Derek Trucks, but I'm not sure either of them will be talked about in another 25 years, there's guys like John Mayer who apparently it is illegal not to like, but leaves me cold.  Annie Clark I find very interesting, but she's too "theatrical" to be taken seriously, her namesake Gary Clark is also interesting but combining different influences still isn't doing anything new.   

 

  

I love Blake Mills’ playing but he’s now more known as a producer. 

Nels Cline maybe? 

After that, probably Andy Martin from YouTube 

mudslide73

Mojo don't rate widdling in any way. They're in that Beatles/Stones centred universe. I used to like reading it but they don't care about guitar especially so it's a surprise they had a guitarists chart.

stickyfiddle

Really really important guitarists who got big post-1996: 

Johnny Greenwood
Matt Bellamy
Derek Trucks
John Mayer
Jack White

I could happily name another bunch that are definitely influential/important but probably not top-10-worthy: Josh Homme, Dan Auerbach, Adam Granduciel, Gary Clark Jr, St Vincent, Jonny Buckland, Ed Sheeran, Jason Isbell, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Albert Hammond Jr/ Nick Valensi Jonsi Birgisson...

Neill

stickyfiddle said:

Really really important guitarists who got big post-1996: 

Johnny Greenwood
Matt Bellamy
Derek Trucks
John Mayer
Jack White

I could happily name another bunch that are definitely influential/important but probably not top-10-worthy: Josh Homme, Dan Auerbach, Adam Granduciel, Gary Clark Jr, St Vincent, Jonny Buckland, Ed Sheeran, Jason Isbell, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Albert Hammond Jr/ Nick Valensi Jonsi Birgisson...

Matt Bellamy is a good call, I'd forgot about him, I'm not a big fan but I can see how he might become a bit of a legend.  

Josh Homme is a bit of a dark horse that I think history will look kindly on.  I met an ex road manager once who had been on tour with a fair number of bands, many of them household names, and he reckoned Josh Homme was the most talented musician he had ever seen and far and away the best guitar player extant.   I think his reluctance to talk about gear and guitars in general maybe doesn't endear him to the guitar community.

mart

Mojo's whole purpose was to focus on the "classic" rock years - 60s and 70s. It's the precise reason they exist.

To complain about them picking guitarists from this era is a bit like complaining that Kerrang don't seem to rate Andres Segovia enough.

Redlester

That’s a really underwhelming list. 

When I read T Bone Walker I immediately mistook him for T Bone Burnett. This being Mojo I still wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen him in there. 

scrumhalf

mart said:

Mojo's whole purpose was to focus on the "classic" rock years - 60s and 70s. It's the precise reason they exist.

You've not read it recvently, have you? It's not as bad as Q but there is still a significant element of having to be worthy and semi-obscure to be written about.

Keiko

Nobody ever dares not to put Jimi Hendrix at number one on any of these lists.

ICBM

Keiko said:

Nobody ever dares not to put Jimi Hendrix at number one on any of these lists.

The irony is that great though he was, there’s another guitarist from the same era who has been even more important in the long run, but who would never be mentioned by this sort of magazine because his music isn’t ‘cool’.

Tony Iommi. Probably the single most influential rock guitarist ever.