Great musicians of the 20th century

[jls001]

My list of the greatest rock guitarists:
1. Eric Johnson (sings too, ok dokey on vocals)
2. Steve Vai (sings too, but lousy singer. Awesome melodies on guitar, though, very playful and coquettish on the guitar)
3. Joe Satriani (sings too - lousily, melodious while being still very, very technical. Has written some of the most soulful tunes for the guitar and gives fancy names to his numbers)
4. Reb Beach (Winger, thankfully doesn't sing)
5. Nuno Bettencourt (great backing contralto vocalist, accomplished strings arranger)
6. Eddie Van Halen (don't like him too much as a solo instrumentalist, but he plays some of the most inventive guitar solos in rock. Also, AFAIK, he's the guy who invented right-handed tapping technique; keyboardmeister, too - have won keyboard player of the year of various magazines multiple times).
7. Steve Morse (jazz influence brings a refreshing blend to his style, very technical, complex yet melodic).
8. George Harrison (Beatles, 'nuff said)
9. Vinnie Moore (one of the finest neo-classical guy, master of the arpeggio)
10. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol's guitarist - man, what rhythm this guy plays).
11. Prince (at one point also known as "Artist Formerly Known as Prince - AFKAP", crazy solos, certified genius in my books)
12. Vito Brata (White Lion, took right handed tapping technique to new heights).
13. Brian May (Queen, deadly and complex melodies - think Bohemian Rhapsody)
14. Mark Knopfler (master of brief "inserts" a la that great blues guy BB King - just a minimal note or two at strategic points)
15. CC DeVille (Poison, master of great melodies)
16. Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple, indulgent and mercurial guy)

Over-rated:
1. Yngwie Malmsteen (over self-indulgent neo-classical technical speed monkey, but brilliant in patches)
2. Carlos Santana
3. Slash (Guns N' Roses, good but confined to chromatic blues scale)


Please feel free to add... If anyone feels offended at my choice, no hurt feelings please. These are my humble opinion.
Joshua

 

[moktan]

My list of the greatest rock guitarists:
1. Eric Johnson (sings too, ok dokey on vocals)
2. Steve Vai (sings too, but lousy singer. Awesome melodies on guitar, though, very playful and coquettish on the guitar)
3. Joe Satriani (sings too - lousily, melodious while being still very, very technical. Has written some of the most soulful tunes for the guitar and gives fancy names to his numbers)
4. Reb Beach (Winger, thankfully doesn't sing)
5. Nuno Bettencourt (great backing contralto vocalist, accomplished strings arranger)
6. Eddie Van Halen (don't like him too much as a solo instrumentalist, but he plays some of the most inventive guitar solos in rock. Also, AFAIK, he's the guy who invented right-handed tapping technique; keyboardmeister, too - have won keyboard player of the year of various magazines multiple times).
7. Steve Morse (jazz influence brings a refreshing blend to his style, very technical, complex yet melodic).
8. George Harrison (Beatles, 'nuff said)
9. Vinnie Moore (one of the finest neo-classical guy, master of the arpeggio)
10. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol's guitarist - man, what rhythm this guy plays).
11. Prince (at one point also known as "Artist Formerly Known as Prince - AFKAP", crazy solos, certified genius in my books)
12. Vito Brata (White Lion, took right handed tapping technique to new heights).
13. Brian May (Queen, deadly and complex melodies - think Bohemian Rhapsody)
14. Mark Knopfler (master of brief "inserts" a la that great blues guy BB King - just a minimal note or two at strategic points)
15. CC DeVille (Poison, master of great melodies)
16. Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple, indulgent and mercurial guy)

Over-rated:
1. Yngwie Malmsteen (over self-indulgent neo-classical technical speed monkey, but brilliant in patches)
2. Carlos Santana
3. Slash (Guns N' Roses, good but confined to chromatic blues scale)


Please feel free to add... If anyone feels offended at my choice, no hurt feelings please. These are my humble opinion.
Joshua

a few notable omissions i feel are Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaugham, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and most definitely Tommy Morello of RATM
...also the list is loaded with lead guitarists..one would have wished Larry Graham, the influential bassist of Sly and the Familystone, the inventor of the 'thumpin and plucking' was included along with the more contemporary The Flea of RHCP..
for more bassists here 100 Greatest Rock Bass Guitarists

 

[ajay124]

you know there is an irony here...Parker, Robert Johnson etc were as miserable as they come..and yet the music they made from the darkest depths had that 'mojo' that extra something in it..jazz, blues always had that tortured beginnings..
today this music is too cerebral and elitist...maybe hip-hop is the new jazz but then again when one looks at the corporatisation of this music, the merchandising etc one doubts..perhaps real music is to be found in the ghettos of africa..but who knows by the time we get to 'hear' them they too would have sold out...its a trap

These days I am flying business class with 'Bird'.Periodically,I get fixated with one musician,to the total exclusion of all others.Earlier it happened with Phil Ochs.And now with Charlie Parker.I've had Charlie Parker's cd's for many years but gave him less playtime because the recordings were average.Now I have better recordings.I am also willing to overlook the recording quality,if the quality of music is exceptional.And with Bird it is indeed exceptional.So much so,that the long undisputed reign of John Coltrane,as my favorite is in danger of being toppled.Yes Charlie Parker has the 'MOJO'.Much more of it than possibly any other jazz musician.
There are many 'miserable' (unhappy) great musicians around.John Coltrane, if you see his videos seems to be enveloped in a thick cloud of inpenetrable gloom.Perhaps because of his Heroin addiction(said to cause depression) but more likely because he could 'see' and 'hear' depths not accessible to ordinary mortals....

 

[jls001]

a few notable omissions i feel are Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaugham, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and most definitely Tommy Morello of RATM
...also the list is loaded with lead guitarists..one would have wished Larry Graham, the influential bassist of Sly and the Familystone, the inventor of the 'thumpin and plucking' was included along with the more contemporary The Flea of RHCP..
for more bassists here 100 Greatest Rock Bass Guitarists

Hendrix, Vaughan, Page, Beck - definitely greats by most reckonings. But not much my types. Hence not included in "my" list of great guitarists. but I freely admit that they were seminal artists who influenced generation of guitarists that came after them. Note also the absence of Clapton

I didn't include bassists. But Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) is my greatest. Another one I really like is Billy Sheehan (Mr BIG).

 

[deba]

My Personal Likings:

I listen to Indian Classical Music mainly and to me the greatest musician of all time is Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, his sarod will take you to the world of trance from where you will never want to come back

Nikhil Banerjee is best as far as Sitar is concerned , Ravi Shankar is excellent as a composer but in rendition of Raga I find Nikhil far superior..

In vocal its Mallikarjun Mansur, Amir Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khanjust superb.
I find rendition by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to be a bit synthetic..

Tabla Anindo Chatterjee / Kumar Bose and Shubhankar Banerjee..
Flute One and Only Hariprasad Chaurasia..
Santoor Shiv Kumar Sharma but dont listen much to Santoor

 

[sameer kumar]

Looks like the OP is very particular about jazz and in all the enthu has missed out on most of the blues artists. Here are few:

BB King
Bo Diddley
Buddy Guy
Champion Jack Dupree
Howling Wolf
Johny Lee Hooker
Leadbelly
Magic Sam
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Slim
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Muddy Waters
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Robert Johnson
Sam Hopkins
Slim Harpo
Son House
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie Dixon
junior wells

Just in case, If you have not listened to these Musicians, then check out this album!.Most of them are covered.

 

[doors666]

any other similar recommeded blues bands?

 

[ajay124]

My Personal Likings:

I listen to Indian Classical Music mainly and to me the greatest musician of all time is Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, his sarod will take you to the world of trance from where you will never want to come back

Nikhil Banerjee is best as far as Sitar is concerned , Ravi Shankar is excellent as a composer but in rendition of Raga I find Nikhil far superior..

In vocal its Mallikarjun Mansur, Amir Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khanjust superb.
I find rendition by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to be a bit synthetic..

Tabla Anindo Chatterjee / Kumar Bose and Shubhankar Banerjee..
Flute One and Only Hariprasad Chaurasia..
Santoor Shiv Kumar Sharma but dont listen much to Santoor

I have scant knowledge but IMMENSE respect for Indian classical music.It is the only true rival of western classical music.I have heard scattered recordings of the well known musicians of the last few decades but the ones I
enjoyed listening to are
Bhimsen Joshi
Zahirddin and Faiyazuddin Dagar
Bismillah Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ravi Shankar

 

[malvai]

John Coltrane, if you see his videos seems to be enveloped in a thick cloud of inpenetrable gloom.Perhaps because of his Heroin addiction(said to cause depression) but more likely because he could 'see' and 'hear' depths not accessible to ordinary mortals....

One of my personal Jazz heroes! have a lot his exceptionally recorded 180g Vinyl's in very very good condition!

 

[micjak77]

Put down the tabloids. Turn off the TV. Allow me to reintroduce you to, arguably, the greatest pop star ever.From the moment Michael Jackson first made contact with the stagea pint-sized, fully formed human dynamohe lit it up with 100,000 watts of pure star powerand we havent been able to take our eyes (or ears) off him since.

Even before he stepped out on his own, hed already sold 100 million records with the Jackson 5. But, oh, when he stepped, it was a moonwalk into magnificence. With the transcendent trifecta of Off the Wall, Thriller (the biggest album of all time), and Bad, Jackson became a master of reinvention, his every move making everything that came before totally irrelevant.

About those movesyoungest singer ever to top the pop charts; broke MTVs unspoken color barrier; sold 750 million records. How? Why? Because Michael Jackson sounded like nobody else: with a sequin-spangled mash-up of rock, R&B, and dance, he united AM and FM, black and white, yesterday and tomorrowsingle-glovedly touching the hearts and shaking the hips of planet Earth.

Forty Five years from when it all began, its that sound that compels us, once again, to be moved by the music behind the man.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MICHAEL JACKSON​

 

[ajay124]

Put down the tabloids. Turn off the TV. Allow me to reintroduce you to, arguably, the greatest pop star ever.From the moment Michael Jackson first made contact with the stagea pint-sized, fully formed human dynamohe lit it up with 100,000 watts of pure star powerand we havent been able to take our eyes (or ears) off him since.

Even before he stepped out on his own, hed already sold 100 million records with the Jackson 5. But, oh, when he stepped, it was a moonwalk into magnificence. With the transcendent trifecta of Off the Wall, Thriller (the biggest album of all time), and Bad, Jackson became a master of reinvention, his every move making everything that came before totally irrelevant.

About those movesyoungest singer ever to top the pop charts; broke MTVs unspoken color barrier; sold 750 million records. How? Why? Because Michael Jackson sounded like nobody else: with a sequin-spangled mash-up of rock, R&B, and dance, he united AM and FM, black and white, yesterday and tomorrowsingle-glovedly touching the hearts and shaking the hips of planet Earth.

Forty Five years from when it all began, its that sound that compels us, once again, to be moved by the music behind the man.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MICHAEL JACKSON​

SORRY micjak 77!
I primarily listen to black musicians but truly/deeply I have always been totally/completely INDIFFERENT to Michael Jackson.Utterly boring and wretched music.sorry.noise.The industry took a young boy with a decent voice and completely ruined him as a singer and as a man.Don't give a damn about those 750 million records sold.Or the Grammy's won.Or the Billboard hits.

 

[micjak77]

SORRY micjak 77!
I primarily listen to black musicians but truly/deeply I have always been totally/completely INDIFFERENT to Michael Jackson.Utterly boring and wretched music.sorry.noise.The industry took a young boy with a decent voice and completely ruined him as a singer and as a man.Don't give a damn about those 750 million records sold.Or the Grammy's won.Or the Billboard hits.

Hey dude who ever you are. I dont need to your views on MJ. Did I ever comment about the artists you have on your list. Its just about what you dig. Dont waste your energy going on about how much you dislike something. This thread is about who one thinks is the greatest musician of 20th century. This is my view on that ...give or take

 

[panditji]

It seems someone forgot to mention the voice of the century, the Chairman of the Board - Mr. Frank Sinatra?????

 

[sameer kumar]

any other similar recommeded blues bands?

Blues Jam in Chicago vol1 & vol 2
.
.
.

 

[sameer kumar]

It seems someone forgot to mention the voice of the century, the Chairman of the Board - Mr. Frank Sinatra?????

True, I agree with you!

 

[ajay124]

Hey dude who ever you are. I dont need to your views on MJ. Did I ever comment about the artists you have on your list. Its just about what you dig. Dont waste your energy going on about how much you dislike something. This thread is about who one thinks is the greatest musician of 20th century. This is my view on that ...give or take

Sorry Bro !
In retrospect my reaction/comment was over the top.I don't like MJ's music but I could have said it in a more simple/civil manner.

 

[ajay124]

It seems someone forgot to mention the voice of the century, the Chairman of the Board - Mr. Frank Sinatra?????

Frank Sinatra,Nat King Cole,Roy Orbinson,Elvis Presley,Louis Armstrong or Ray Charles?
Difficult choice,but I would vote for Nat!
Ella Fitzgerald,Billie Holiday,Mahalia Jackson,Nina Simone or Aretha Franklin?
Impossible choice.I would vote for all of them!

 

[moktan]

Frank Sinatra,Nat King Cole,Roy Orbinson,Elvis Presley,Louis Armstrong or Ray Charles?
Difficult choice,but I would vote for Nat!
Ella Fitzgerald,Billie Holiday,Mahalia Jackson,Nina Simone or Aretha Franklin?
Impossible choice.I would vote for all of them!

for me its easy with the menfolk..i would chose Louis Armstrong any day over the others..(though i am quite surprised with the omission of Otis Redding in that list..) personally i prefer Sinatra's cohort Dean Martin over the master..but that's only me making a highly subjective judgment ...
as for the ladies..now that is difficulty...

 

[doors666]

For Real Blues Lovers, I found this awesome list... Of course its called the blues hall of fame, and fittingly so, no bluesy rock bands ever made it to this list...:lol:

Blues Hall of Fame - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ajay124]

for me its easy with the menfolk..i would chose Louis Armstrong any day over the others..(though i am quite surprised with the omission of Otis Redding in that list..) personally i prefer Sinatra's cohort Dean Martin over the master..but that's only me making a highly subjective judgment ...
as for the ladies..now that is difficulty...

Yeah!Otis Redding,Marvin Gaye,James Brown,Barry White,George Benson and even better Sam Cooke.Last night I was listening to Lou Rawls and he too is very good.Don't much care for Stevie Wonder.
Among the rockers/poppers Phil Ochs,Leonard Cohen,Bob Dylan,Neil Young,John Lennon,Van Morrison,Bob Marley,Steve Winwood,Donald Fagen,Art Garfunkel,,JJ Cale,David Bowie,Mick Jagger,Paul Mcartney,Lou Reed,Jim Morrison,Jimi Hendrix,Jack Bruce,Eric Clapton,Robert Plant,Roger Daltrey,Ian Anderson,Mark Knoffler,Don Henley,Neil Diamond,Rod Stewart,Freddie Mercury,David Gates,Karen Carpenter,Joan Baez,Joni Mitchell,Marianne Faithfull.Don't listen to most of them now(except on nostalgia trips) but I have spent a lot of time with all of them in the past!Springsteen and Sting are not my cuppa tea.
Blues-Robert Johnson,Muddy Waters,Buddy Guy,Etta James among the one's I've heard.
As for the ladies.The five I mentioned are so incredibly good that it would be unfair to choose one.But if I was pushed to choose I would go with Ella Fitzgerald.
Oh Yeah!I keep forgetting Paul Robeson and Woody Guthrie!