most under rated guitarist & most over rated guitarist.

NO WAY >> ANGUS RULES!!!!

Most underated: Josh Homme
Most Overrated: pretty much all alternative on the radio

and yes, nirvana is alright, but they are way overated

I always include Harrison among the underrated.

And let's play nice here and agree to disagree without trivializing other opinions. (And don't try to defeat the cybercensor, please. We're a family-oriented site). Okay, I'll get off my moderator soapbox now.

Thanks!

It's funny... people always talk about 'overrated' or 'underrated' without ever really saying what they mean. Since terms like 'most over-rated' are contentious and somewhat subjective to begin with, I'll take a stab at terminology first:

To be 'properly rated' all guitarists should be lined up in a row and handed numbers. The best guitarist would be #1, second best #2, etc. We'd have to define ranking criteria, of course, like technique, tone, ability to express emotion through music, versatility... I'm leaving out things like showmanship, because that has nothing to do with being a guitarist - only with being an entertainer.

Then they head over to the popularity poll. If the most popular guitarist happens to be the guy who's #1, then great - he's properly rated. Otherwise, guitarist with ability #1 is underrated, and the guitarist who's most popular is over-rated. Then the second most popular, and so on.

I think the bottom line is that all jazz, bluegrass, ragtime and classical guitarists will end up under-rated; all rock guitarists will end up over-rated.

We'd be left with simple math to see whose popularity ranking number was farthest above/below their ability number. If we're really talking about people whose popularity has far eclipsed their abilities, I'd say Johnny Ramone is probably the most over-rated, and Keith Richards would surely be in the top five. The most under-rated will be some fine instrumentalist we've never heard of :) - but for ones we HAVE heard of, I'd probably vote for Roy Clark.

I'm not dissing the music of either Ramone or Richards; there's a reason tehy're popular. But both often make the top 100 guitarists lists, and it'd be hard to argue there aren't 100 'better' guitarists (in terms of ability) than either.

I think Harrison's underrated because rarely do critics talk either about his prowess as a rockabilly player -- he's virtually unsurpassed there in my opinion. And his slide style is quite distinct as well. In fact, one critic suggests that his slide derives more from Indian music than it does from the blues. That, I think, helps explain why his style of slide playing is so easily recognizable. Speaking of slide, I'd certainly include Bonnie Raitt among the overlooked in discussions like this one.

Richards, Tom, I think is a master rhythm player who really knows how to create a groove. Rhythm players are often overlooked, I think, but Richards isn't. In part, I suspect, because he has played so many riffs, often playing off Chuck Berry, that have become part of my generation's musical vocabulary.

Now, that however, brings me to another fantastic rhythm player who gets a lot of attention as a songwriter and singer but less than he should for his guitar playing -- John Lennon. Incredible rhythm guitarist, I think. Unfortunately, rhythm players in general are often neglected in favor of lead players -- which is understandable, I suppose.

Tim, I think Harrison was the best musician in the Beatles, hands down. John and Paul took center stage as the songwriters, but George was well ahead of them in terms of performance ability on his instrument.

I'm not denying Keith is a great rhythm guitarist; it's just that the term 'over-rated' to me says someone is ranked higher in popularity than their technical ability would dictate... and while Keith deserves his popularity for his ability to create those simple hooks that tap into the hearts of listeners, that's the core of the argument - if popularity is the factor that determines ability, then every guitarist is rated exactly where he or she should be, and there's no such thing as an under/over-rated guitarist!

There are guitarists with incredible abilities we've never (or barely) heard of: Bill Nelson, Sharon Isbin, etc. etc. The ones we've heard of are the winners of the marketing game... some of them are among the best guitarists, but I'd venture most of them aren't :)

Ahh yes, the over rated poll, over rated vs under rated

Like Tim says, valid discussion is welcome, pointless non-thinking, so and so sucks will be deleted immediately.

Arjen, sorry about your post, but it quoted one I deleted, it would've been weird to leave it intact.

Noteboat makes an excellent point. I can guarantee you the most under rated guitarist is by definition one you have never heard of.

So my nominee for most under rated guitarist? Franklin Smoltz of Newport, Minnesota.

I've never heard of him either.

People tend to over-rate technique and under-rate creativity. Many do not understand or appreciate the gift of "making it look effortless." The result is a lot wannabes proclaiming "I can do that," when there is no way they would have ever even thought of it in the first place. Many ideas seem obvious after the fact, but a the time of conception they were radical and unfathomable by most

Another facet of playing/musicianship that is overlooked is the difference between spontanious creation and practiced playing of a learned piece. I'm a little tired of hearing "Jimi was sloppy man, I can kick his @ss." Sorry guy, you could not. Jimi (and many of our other musical geniuses) made up many aspects of his tunes as he played them -- he did not have the luxury of spending weeks is his bedroom working over the sheet music or tab or recording learning to play it cleaner than the original. It came right out of the man then and there. Amazing how many people do not understand what a fantastic talent -- and gift -- that is/was.

(I'm not interested in starting another discussion of Jimi. He's just a good example of my point.)

Exactly...

On what basis could you possibly compare DiMeola, arguably one of the world's best technical players with Hendrix, arguably one of the world's best improvisers?

Most under rated in my humble opinion is Junior Brown, this guy is just amazing :D :D you should check out "Guit-Steel Blues" or Stupid Blues"
He plays a double guitar that has a 6-string guitar and a steel guitar together and he can almost play them at the same time :shock:

As for over rated, ......I'll pass, no matter who i would pick, he or she would probally be able to play circles around me anyway :lol: :lol: --the dog

im surprised none has said this... Gary Moore is very under rated. he is such a good guitarist and its wierd that you never hear anything about him. and yes... i do agree with the jimi thing... but jimi does SOMETIMES get overrated. not a lot...but a little. i hate when people say "yeah, Jimi Hendrix is my favorite guitarist" and they havent even heard him. that just pisses me off.

Such a subjective topic. Even if you narrowed the comparisons to "over & under rated guitarists that we've heard of," it would still be a daunting task.

I am, however, curious as to why Stanley Jordan's name never comes up on lists of great guitarists. Maybe I overlooked it or missed it, but I've never seen it. Hmmm....

15-20 years ago Jordan was named often... but his playing is really defined by that two-handed-tapping. 'Best guitarist' lists are usually made up of people who are A) versatile or B) current. You'll see Page/Clapton/etc. on lists because they have a lot of versatility to their playing. The folks who are known for one thing, even if they do it very well, disappear after a while.

20 years from now somebody will be wondering why Yngwie isn't on the great guitarist lists :)

That makes sense!! However, Hendrix is not current. Yet his name continues to be in the top 5. You could probably speak as to his versatility moreso than I, but was he versatile?

Or is Hendrix the anomole in this argument because he had a greater impact on his era than Jordan?