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I know it's all a matter of opinion, but if I were to choose the greatest guitarist of all time, it would go to Frank Zappa hands down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llUbqZ0s ... re=related

Guitar solo comes in at about 2:00 and he rocks the fuck out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW53fiwyskA

A live duet with Steve Vai at his 1980s-est. The coordination is fucking amazing, and yet they're all over the scales.

Steve Vai is awesome.

I absolutely love Frank Zappa and the Mothers but I wouldn't call him the greatest guitarist ever.

At the same time you're right it's just a matter of opinion.

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Don't eat the yellow snow.

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I enjoy Joe Satriani

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I guess I would narrow my definition to greatest guitarist in the technical sense. I would say that I really, really love hearing his solos, and what amazes me is how difficult they are. If you listen to the second half of "Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch," which is essentially one long song ending in "Teenage Prostitute," he goes through the weirdest chord progressions. It's unlike any other song. And on top of that, the time signature changed constantly, and it's always weird things like 11/4 time. The only people I've heard who were so playful with odd time signatures was Dave Brubeck and his band.

That said, I think that often his solos lack soul. Actually, "Willie the Pimp," the first URL I posted, is an example of that.

I think Rush likes to mess around with their time signatures. But Frank Zappa is definitely up there as a guitar legend. Steven Vai is amazing. Being a great guitar player isn't always just the technical skills. It has to do with the feel of the guitar too and the tonality. That is why these guys are awesome.

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"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. "

Rush has definitely done some cool stuff with time signatures. I heard Tom Sawyer playing in Target the other day and I had to stop myself from doing air guitar.

Phish is great for that reason too. Lots of crazy Jazz/Classic rock with tons of jamming and crazy time signatures. Really technical stuff, but really enjoyable to listen to as well. They cover all sorts of bands too, so seeing them live you always get a eclectic mix of music.

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The only thing that turns me off about them is that they "jam" for way too long and their persona as a stoner band.

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"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. "

I completely understand. That's what put me off about them in the first place, but they really grew on me. I'd at least give their albums a listen. Junta is a great start, but Farmhouse is definitely more easy to listen to for a first timer.

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Anyone here ever listen to Oysterhead? They were a one-album-only group comprised of Trey Anastasio from Phish, Stewart Copeland from The Police, and Les Claypool from Primus. The album isn't anything totally revolutionary, but it is good. Expectedly, the songs tend to sound either like Phishy Primus songs or Primusy Phish songs.

I've heard of them, but despite being a huge Primus and Phish fan, I still have never sat down to listen to them. I'll either have to Itunes that or sift through the internets.

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