Between the Licks

Please note, I asked who the GREATEST living guitarist is, not the best. As in, which guitarist has had the most historical/cultural impact, and is still alive?

• Jeff Beck
• Eric Clapton
• B.B. King
• Buddy Guy
• Angus Young
• Kirk Hammett
• Steve Morse
• Steve Howe
• Steve Vai
• Allan Holdsworth
• John Petrucci
• John Mclaughlin
• John Champion

Please note, obviously, this isn't a catch-all list. If you have another guitarist that you believe is the greatest living, simply vote for him. I will add him to the list for others to view.

Until further notice (my brain works slow on Fridays...) my vote is....

Eric Clapton

Your list is great, I put a vote down on John Mclaughlin though. Considering his great work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and his collaborations in SHakti, which is a fusion of Indian Classical with John's signature style playing if youre not familiar. Huge fan here! of both bands. Dont get me wrong i love BB, buddy and eric. Heard some jeff beck stuff hes great but not too into it. I'd like to add, as far as dead guitarists, one that tops the list is Johnny "guitar" Watson, maybe even zappa tying him. if you haven't heard please check him out. Specifically "Three hours past midnight." I love talking music so please inquire!
*edit: His work was very overshadowed by the flood of Psychedelic bands, but i believe his ideas of peace and togetherness and collaboration of music are very significant traits that propel his music further.

man you always ask the toughest questions
I think that as far as marketability goes Eric Clapton is the greatest. I mean that I had heard of him way before the other three. Of course that could be because my parents are big fans of his I dont know. But obviously he is an amazing inspiration and excellent musician.

I think as far as who influences my playing the most it would have to be a mix between Buddy Guy and BB King where my slower melodies are BB inspired and quicker licks are more from Buddy. Of course SRV is another great influence but sadly he is no longer with us.

I have never been a huge fan of Jeff Beck but when I hear him playing with other greats he always does a great job.

So really I dont think I could possible answer this question. All four men are inspirations and when they pass on they will be sorely missed.

PS. How old is Buddy now?

steve via is my favorite but i think everyone should go to youtube an type in worlds greatest unknown guitar player.He is a gentlemen by the name of John Champion

Buddy Guy is 72, he's actually playing at the local blues fest in Columbia, MO.

I am pretty excited, anyone seen him live?

I think they are all great players but to ask a question of relevance even outside of technique, we should realize that it is inextricably tied with the style you are talking about. Eric Clapton is wonderful but i don't think many death metal guitarists (even if you don't like them, a lot of people adore them) are influenced from him. Personally I listen to progressive music more than any other so for us prog heads, I would say the most influencial living players are as follows though in no particular order:

1. Steve Morse
2. Steve Howe
3. Steve Vai
4. Allan Holdsworth
5. John Petrucci

i dont recognise any of those name except one. eric clapton. but i dont vote for him, greatest living guitarist on my opinion is....angus young and kirk hammet just tie up on my list i cant deicide between them xD

Nice choices, Angus Young is very influencial in his own way. Personally i don't feel that kirk hammet has offered that much. In my opinion there were people playing metal before him, better than him, and more distincly than him. Actually, although Heffield is not as fast as Hammet, i personally think Heffield is the better player.

you do have a good point. hetfeild is good, infact i think he wrote all the solos from the self title album. well except for...whereevr i may roam, kirk improvised that.

In my opinion Carlos Santana. He has such smooth solos.It suprised me that he was not on the list.

Hey,
All 'popular' names I see.
I wanna mention Tommy Emmanuel as the Greatest (and Best) Guitarist (and not just alive).
granted, hes not that well-known/popular as, lets say, Clapton, but I guarantee that his influence on the ones that are familiair with his work is enormous.
(in the same line Chet Atkins, but I do believe he died somewhere in 2001...)
(and hes been around for a long time also...)

I saw McLaughlin, but not his compadre Paco de Lucia, which im not sure is still alive (ive quicksearched but not sure). This man is a machine......it seems the guitar is crafted just for him when you see him play....perfect technique and a flamenco background....a real treat....

And for the newer names, I wanna mention some frontrunners from the Candyrat label record. Dufour, McKee & Taylor (my favourite) Granted, thay are new to the scene and will pertain mostly to the virtuoso guitar scene instead of mainstreaming like guys as Claptin and King, but, they are impacting the (fingerstyle) guitar scene with great force as we speak and will inspire thousands more, as they are just getting started.

thats my two cents worth....

um i just realised someone better than kirk >.> zakk wylde

Zakk Wylde is pretty damn good. I liked the mention of some of the new unknown guys from Nevyle, Andy Mckee is amazing at what he does. His version of Africa is awesome. One guy i think we're all forgetting is Al Di Meola, if you mention Paco and Mclaughlin, you can't leave out DiMeola. I saw him in Dallas two years ago and it was incredible, he has such an outstanding mix of jazz, congo rhythms, and blazing shred.

What no Slash???

Roy Buchanan, Dany Gatton or Bugs Henderson

Dick Dale, Billy Gibbons or John Mayall

Duanne Allman, Keith Richards and Brian May...

A never ending list of players who may or may not be more famous or even better than their piers...and thanks to all.

Now why is it that everyone ALWAYS forgets about the man in black......Ritchie Blackmore!