Best guitarists to ever walk the earth..

Best as far as what? Skill, songwriting, arranging? Jimmy Page was the greatest arranger and layerer(word?) in the studio, but kinda sloppy live. He was a genius in the studio. Malmsteen can play most people out of the building but actually wrote few good songs. Keith Richards isn't technically amazing, but he's a very interesting guitarist. Plays A LOT in Open G, plus he is the king of the rhythm riffs. I love Keith Richards style of play. Roy Buchanan was an amazing blues guitarist check out "After Hours". Junior Brown, my fucking idol, nobody plays like this guy, or plays a guit-steel for that matter. Phelps "Catfish" Collins guitarist for James Brown's band and guitarist in Parliament Funkadelic. Doc Watson, greatest flat picker and bluegrass guitarist ever. STEVIE RAY "fucking" VAUGHAN, do I even need to explain? Andres Segovia classical guitarist. Django Rinehartd(sp?) another amazing jazz guy. Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery....The list could go on and on brother make some criteria. "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends".

Dimebag Darrell, RIP

Andres Segovia

Achilles Last Stand, I love jamming out to this song on my "How the West was Won" DVD

Honky Tonk Woman, great fucking riffage

Roy Buchanan - hey Joe

Albert Collins, greatest tone ever?

Junior Brown

JB, Freeborn Man, did Jimmy Martin ever think it'd turn into this?

Catfish Collins

Good ole' Doc with the Deep River Blues

Black Mountain Rag

Tennessee Stud

The GOAT - Pipeline

The GOAT- Little Wing

The Goat - Texas Flood

Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Trilogy Suite Opus 5, listen to the original version off Trilogy I think, simply brilliant

Django Reinhardt

Amazing Joe Pass

I think I cried watching this, beautiful

Derek Trucks, again

Robert Earl Keen, great storyteller

The Road Goes On Forever and the Party Never Ends, my friends....

CHECK THIS MOTHERFUCKER OUT

Brent Mason, another guitar hero of mine

Amazing Country Guiar, Albert Lee and Vince GILL

Bohemian Rhapsody on classical guitar

cant be an order, it is too subjective, there isnt a best, there are those clearly a step above the rest though. so since no one else will mention him...

joe bonamassa

YouTube - Joe Bonamassa - "Solo + Blues Deluxe" - 11-21-03 - Cleveland blues

YouTube - JOE BONAMASSA acoustic

YouTube - Joe Bonamassa - Had To Cry Today rock

YouTube - Joe Bonamassa live in Paris, France on march 31st 2007. emotion

This is getting into dodgy territory. Best as in most technically proficient, or best at making beautiful music?
I'm not a big fan of many of the "old school" crowd, apart from Hendrix and Brian May. As well as being very technically able, they could write music that speaks to you.
As for more modern guitarists, James Dean Bradfield is the only one who I would rate under both categories. And he's gone downhill a lot in the last ten years.

EDIT: Shit, I forgot Dimebag. R.I.P.

YouTube - Buckethead - Nottingham Lace

Lonnie Johnson
Fernando Sor


Had to represent :)

Jimi Hendrix

how about in effort to make this thread better there are no repeats and if you dont post a video you just dont post