BEST BAND EVER: Results!

Satch likes to noodle a whole lot in live setting and his whammy-bar/Sustainiac antiques get old pretty quickly. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't become tired of jerking off in every gig he's done over the years BUT he has travelled far from classic shred rock in his discography every now and then and continues to expand on his style. For example, Crystal Planet - Engines of Creation - Strange Beautiful Music is a damn good 1-2-3 punch for discovering different shades of Satch. That in itself blows every guitarist, whose discography is made up mostly of 80s shred, out of the water. Guitar playing has come a long way since then. Besides, dude's got an amazing combination of touch and tone - he really is unique in how he works his way around the guitar.
On Hendrix > Satriani, I'm sure Joe would agree with you. Satch has always said that the day Hendrix died, guitar became #1 thing in the world for him.
 
Satriani has a cool sound and nice tricks up his sleeve. But most of his music that I've heard does sound stale. Most shredders suffer from the same condition. That being said, I should hear more of his discography.
 
Not that anyone should start to adore Satch from this fact alone, but his national anthem guitar performance is the only one I've heard that sounds good. Every other one is either thin and weak or unnecessarily over-the-top.

 
Hendrix his playing often sounds messy. Compared to Janick even. I like his originality, his fire, but not his live playing much.
 
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Eliminated after Round 9:
Andy LaRocque - 11 votes
Obsidian Claw - 10 votes
Craig Goldy - 9 votes
George Harrison - 9 votes
 
Voted for Al Di Meola, Dick Dale, Jimi Hendrix, Jon Schaffer, Nuno Bettencourt, Robert Fripp and Steve Vai.
 
Jimi Hendrix
Joe Satriani
Nuno Bettencourt
Randy Rhoads
Robert Fripp
Steve Lukather
Steve Morse
Steve Vai

Schaffer's rhythm work is monumental and he has written more good songs than all the people I just listed.
 
Randy Rhoads did more memorable riffs in his too short life than that gun nut in his entire career, but alas.
 
Jon Schaffer is one of the most generic riffers ever. Most of the good IE songs are because of Barlow.
 
Jon Schaffer is one of the most generic riffers ever. Most of the good IE songs are because of Barlow.
What is generic about his riffs? Who played like him and did it earlier? It is not just fast and tight playing. It is the use of rhythm and patterns as well.

Some people really undervalue rhythm playing and/or have no clue about the man's songwriting. Alas, the man turned into an ignorant fool but the music (and playing of course) was good in better times.

I doubt if Barlow was known without Jon's songwriting. The phenomenal second album (without Barlow) is better than most albums by any band, largely because of Schaffer. But tell that to people who are into Purple or Dream Theater or so called super guitarists who cannot write a single catchy tune or people for who Maiden is the heaviest band in their collection.
 
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On Randy Rhoads. Who listens to music with Randy Rhoads on guitar out here? In order to do that we'd need to spin an Ozzy record or early Quiet Riot. That last band might not be bad, haven't tried these albums. But who else enjoys these albums? How often do they appear in the now playing topic? I heard the Ozzy albums and can only appreciate Crazy Train.

Unfortinately the man had a short life but I cannot deny the idea that this contributed to his status.

I just read that Rhoads' talent was not always met with such praise during his lifetime. Rolling Stone was critical of his playing, referring to Rhoads in a review of Diary Of A Madman as "a junior-league Eddie Van Halen – bustling with chops but somewhat short on imagination".
 
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