Who are your Top 5 guitarists of all time

I haven't thought about my top 5 guitarists in awhile but in terms of influence it'd go something like this (in no particular order and only rock guitarists):

1: Eddie Van Halen
2: Nuno Bettencourt
3: John Petrucci
4: Adrian Smith
5: Ace Frehley/Alex Lifeson

So not really in terms of who is the best or even who I enjoy listening to the most, but I'd say these guys have impacted my playing the most, especially since I've been listening to them for so long. I'd say John Petrucci is probably the most relevant today. #5 was a tough choice because there are lots who could go there. I went with a tie because Ace was more of an influence on my approach to solos and Alex had more of an impact in his use of more colorful chord voicings than the standard power chord. I've always liked the way Ace solos and he was the first guitarist that made me think of the guitar solo as a composition in itself rather than a spot to show off. His solos were also the first I attempted to learn on guitar myself.
 
I'm just gonna make a list of 5 guitarist I have the most respect for. Number 3 and 4 I don't listen to all the time but the things I did hear from them was enough to seal the deal on them being amazing.

1. David Gilmour
2. Adrian Smith
3. Tony Iommi
4. Jake. E. Lee
5. Dave Murray
 
My top five (in no particular order) is a bit different to you lot:

1. Adrian Smith (Always my favourite in Maiden, because he had a hand in writing a lot of my favourite Maiden songs)
2. Billie Joe Armstrong ('Dookie'/Green Day were the reason I wanted to play guitar back in the day)
3. Page Hamilton (I just love that Drop D riffage)
4. James Hetfield (Awesome writer and player. I tried for years to get up to his downpicking speeds...and never got close)
5. Slash (I can't play his stuff very well but I have fun trying)
 
1. Petrucci
2. Romeo
3. Blackmore
4. Satriani
5. Howe / Malmsteen / Josh Christian - this last place changes all the time, so I felt the urge to name all of them.
 
I'd like to throw in another guitarist who deserves mention.

Akira Takasaki from Loudness.

Style: His guitar playing style is characterized by complicated heavy metal riffs executed at great speed and with extreme precision, often using alternate picking technique and little vibrato. His compositions are usually filled with melodies and hooks, in order to make well-constructed songs, instead of long neo-classical themes like some of his peers do. His shred guitar work has attracted many fans over the world and his musicianship has often been compared to the ability of guitarists of his age like Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Steve Vai, David T. Chastain and others. In 1986 he declared that the main influences for his compositions and guitar solos came from the work of Deep Purple’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and from Japanese music for koto. (source: wiki)

Here a few nice bits I wanted to share:
To the people who can't stand the voice of singer Minoru Niihara go straight to the moment where the solo begins. However, I advise you to play the whole song, to experience the rest of the music (and melodies).
Live version (solo starts around 3:06)

Dream Fantasy
Studio: (solo begins at 2:41)
Live: (solo begins at 2:36!)

Shadows of War
 
Hadn't seen it. Cheers!

I find the weakness part about him a bit unimportant. Most of this nothing to do with appreciating his songewriting or guitar skills. His strenghts, now here we're talking. Well written!

On influences I'd add Queensryche (parts of the last video I posted certainly show that).

Looking forward to reading about Dave, H, & Janick. Do you agree with these pieces?
 
Forostar said:
Hadn't seen it. Cheers!
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I think you'll like it.
Forostar said:
I find the weakness part about him a bit unimportant. Most of this nothing to do with appreciating his songewriting or guitar skills.
Click to expand...
I think it's pretty obvious what it's saying though.
Forostar said:
His strenghts, now here we're talking. Well written!
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All the entries are pretty good.
Forostar said:
On influences I'd add Queensryche (parts of the last video I posted certainly show that).
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Take your word for it...
Forostar said:
Looking forward to reading about Dave, H, & Janick. Do you agree with these pieces?
Click to expand...
They're pretty good.

The whole site unashamedly focuses only on older guitarists & doesn't have entries for the mindless shredders of today. It's good. Note, Janick is buried somewhere else under "honourable mentions" or something; the whole site isn't particularly easy to navigate. Maybe the forum is where it's happening, but I haven't looked.
 
Yes I just found him. Kai Hansen is there as well. Someone's guitar work I really like a lot. Now reading Dave.
 
Listening to A Night at the Opera after a very long time (in fact I haven't listened to aby Queen for several years) made me realise I should have included a honourable mention to Brian May. He's definitely not the best, IMO (hence "honourable mention"), but he has a lot of character and seems quite underrated to me overall. Very tasty.
 
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