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I hvane't seen many live shows, so I'll just list the one that for me is definitely at the top of this small list...Robert Fripp.
The best guitar solo I ever saw live was Magma...during Kobaia at the Highline Ballroom in 2010.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
David Gilmour
Johnny Winter
Jimmy Page
Al Di Meola
Robin Trower
Eric Clapton
Tony Iommi
Carlos Santana
Ritchie Blackmore
Martin Barre
Jonny Lang
Buddy Guy
B.B. King
Bonnie Raitt
Frank Zappa
Joe Satriani
Eric Johnson
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Zakk Wylde
Steve Hackett
Steve Howe
Eddie Van Halen
Leslie West
Billy Gibbons
Buck Dharma
I saw Rik Emmet and Jeff Healey too, now that you mention them.
Damn, some of you guys have seen some incredible players/shows. The one I’m surprised I didn’t see here was Terry Kath of Chicago. He was a beast.
Yep. Awesome show.
With the Tubes, he only played two songs as part of their encore (which irritated me because he was one of the headliners: the show was advertised as "Robin Williams, Todd Rundgren, Ronnie Montrose, and the Tubes"): "Town without Pity" - which the Tubes had done previously as part of their act, with vocals - and a slow, burning blues version of WPoD.
A few off the top of my head...
Allan Holdsworth
John McLaughlin
Mike Keneally
Ralph Towner
James McGaw
Steve Hackett
Robert Fripp
David Gilmore (not the Pink Floyd guy, the M-Base jazz guy)
Jan Zehrfeld
Paco De Lucia
Alex Machacek
Also adding :
Greg Howe
Alex Machacek ( although it was with "UK" )
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Tony MacAlpine
Chris Poland ( with Ohm, not Megadeath )
Frank Marino
Jerry Garcia
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Eric Johnson
Jeff Beck
Steve Hillage
Steve Hackett
Steve Howe
Steve Morse
Steve Stevens
Adrian Belew
Bob Fripp
Dr Brian May
Roye Albrighton
David Torn
David Gilmour
Dickey Betts
Warren Haynes
Pat Metheny
Buck Dharma
Al DiMeola
Tony Iommi
Akira Takasaki
Uli Jon Roth
Michael Schenker
Mathias Jabs
Allan Holdsworth
Rik Emmett
James MacCaw
Roy Harper (I don't really think of him as a "guitarist" so much as a "singer/songwriter who plays guitar", but since someone else mentioend him up thread, I'm going to include him
I mean, this feels more like just a laundry list of my favorite guitarists (minus the ones I've never seen live, e.g. Blackmore, Trower, Towner, Rypdal, etc)
One I haven't seen mentioned:
Ian Bairnson
re: Ronnie Montrose
I feel like a total dope whenever anyone mentions Ronnie, because i've been aware of him for 37 years now, but I've never really heard much of his music.
I read about him in the September 1983 issue of Guitar Player. I remember there was this photo of him playing this big Gretsch guitar, which was his main axe at the time. So my initial impression was that he was some kind of rockabilly guy or something. :lol Course, I started reading the article, and then I saw the photos of his stage rig (he had this pedal board with like a half dozen CV pedals that he used to control the digital delays in his his effects rack) and of him playing with the the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, I think it was. Obviously, he wasn't a rockabilly guy.
But anyway...so I remember in this article they were talking about Town Without Pity, and they asked him how close it came to "breaking" i.e. how close did it come being a hit, and he said very close, but he was foiled by Chuck Mangione, who released Feels So Good right about the same time, and as Ronnie put it, "How can you have two instrumentals at the same radio station? At least, that's the line they gave me".
The other thing I remember was, apparently, at the time, he was performing as a duo, with just him and keyboardist Mitchell Froom (who later became a noted record producer), with a drum machine and sequencer doing the stuff the two of them couldn't. Always wanted hear what that sounded like that.
Start with Open Fire.
Probably something like this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXLcaIKto3c
So many...
Martin Barre
Steve Howe
Steve Hackett
Steve Morse
Steve Hillage
Steve Rothery
David Gilmour
Alan Holdsworth
Al Di Meola
John Mclaughlin
Mike Stern
Larry Coryell
Frank Zappa
Robert Fripp
Adrian Belew
Robin Trower
Buck Dharma
Ulrich Roth
Michael Schenker
Mike Johnson
James Mac Gaw
Paco De Lucia
Michael Karoli
Alex Lifeson
Tony Iommi
Ed Wynne
Phil Miller
and on and on and on...
I think he's a masterful acoustic guitarist. Also, at least one time I saw him he played an electric guitar through some effects for a really good sound. I agree that it's all mostly put toward the singer/songwriter thing, but IMO his guitar playing is much more atmospheric than most singer/songwriters.
If I WERE making a list, Todd Rundgren would be on it (others MUST have listed him), as well as Frank Usher, who played with Fish for years. Oh, and Jerry Garcia!
When it comes to acoustic guitarists, the holy trinity must surely be Phil Keaggy, Michael Hedges and Paco de Lucia.
Ain't that the truth!
I've seen him so many times with Ohm (with bassist, Rob Paglieri, who is one of the best bassist on the planet), and every time, no matter how many times I've heard those great fusion songs, he never fails to make one's jaw drop.
And look at that, he's playing TONIGHT not 15 minutes from my house. Not sure I am ready to be in a small packed club yet...
https://www.thebakedpotato.com/events-calendar/
David Gilmour
Frank Zappa
Martin Barre
Pete Townshend
Jerry Garcia
Frank Marino
Jorma Kaukonen
Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser
Tony Iommi
Steve Howe
Carlos Santana
Adrian Belew
Gary Rossington
Allen Collins
Ed King
Johnny Winter
Stephen Stills
Dickey Betts
Joe Perry
Ritchie Blackmore
Jimmy Herring
Gary Green
Roger McGuinn
Bill Kirchen
Peter Frampton
Leo Kottke
James Burton
John Jorgenson
David Nelson
Michael Schenker
Dave Davies
Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt
Doc Watson
Lowell George
Dave Mason
Robbie Robertson
Henry Vestine
Lindsey Buckingham
Craig Chaquico
Rod Price
Barry Melton
Phil Manzanera
Taj Mahal
David Lindley
Debbie Davies
California Guitar Trio
Ed Wynne
Dick Dale
Cyril Pahinui
Ray Kane
Ledward Kaapana
I'm not going to list all the guitarists I've seen, but the best were:
Michael Hedges
Richard Thompson
Mike Keneally
Eric Clapton
Of those not listed in the all encompassing posts...
Mike Holmes
Neil Zaza
Peter White