Here is a question, since I know we have a few guitar players on this board...
who are you top 5 players, and what was the 1 riff that made you want to start plaing?
1.Yngwie J. Malmsteen
2. Randy Rhoads
3. Edward Van Halen
4. Chet Atkins
5. Vito Bratta
(Brad Paisley is up ther as well)
and the riff was Crazy Train.
Hopefully you’ll love my list and hate my riff????
Riff that made me want to play: Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit. I was 14, never played a guitar in my life, and an old hand me down guitar from my uncle was sitting in a storage shed. Never played one before that video.
As for players, I won’t say this is a comprehensive “best” in my books, just a my personal faves.
1. Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth): Just an amazing songwriter who writes with every instrument in mind. He’s more proggy now, but started out Metal. Songs to justify: “Ghost of Perdition”; “Blackwater Park”
2. Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders): This is currently “the guy” when we’re talking guitar virtuosos. More graceful and blazing on an 8 string than most people are with 6 strings. He attacks the top 2 strings with more of a percussive approach. Songs to justify: “CAFO”; “New Eden”; “The Brain Dance”
3. Dimebag Darrel (Pantera; New Found Power): Guitar players can be ranked on a multitude of angles, but Dime rocks the top on two categories - rock star persona and guitar tone. In terms of tone, he’s basically SRV 15-20 years later. In terms of rock star persona, this man is the single leading cause of liver disease in North America. First time I saw Pantera live I’m thinking “shit, their videos are no joke, the entire crew is drinking Crown straight from the bottle.” Songs to justify: “Floods”; “Cemetery Gates”
4. Paul Waggoner (Between the Buried and Me): probably my most favourite band right now. They can just capture any type of sound, but everything starts with the vision of this man. When not being recruited by Lamb of God to fill in for Mark Morton, this guy is whipping up a fine blend of dark, dissonant intros, thumping rhythms, and jazz infused lead work. Amazing guitar player. Songs to justify: “White Walls”; “Extremophile Elite”
5. Chris Cornell. If you want to learn some campfire tunes that will blow people away (assuming you can hit the high notes vocally), this man provided many an anthem... and they’re usually songs with some interesting chord figures. Songs to justify: “Sunshower”; “Like a Stone”