I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of these folks live so let me give an additional thumbs up to Robben Ford and Tommy Emmanuel.
Peter Green is another all time fave, though I’ve never heard him in person.
Mark Knopfler is often passed over in these discussions and yet I think he plays with an understated elegance and soulfulness that is virtuoso but not flashy. I’ve never seen him solo but saw Dire Straits twice.
As a blues afficiando it’s hard to avoid the Kings of electric guitar: Freddie, Albert and B.B. Have not listened to Born Under a Bad Sign in months. I’m overdue.
I was lucky enough to see SRV on the same stage as Clapton and he blew everyone away. Also that night Jeff Healy impressed with his fire and emotion. Not many folks know he played the trumpet as well.
On the Jazz side I really like Pat Metheny, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. But if you’re an audiophile and have not heard any of the albums by Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin and Paco DeLucia you are missing out. Bill Frisell and Larry Coryell deserve an honorable mention here too.
I didn’t notice any female players mentioned so allow me to throw a couple of names off the top of my head into the mix here.
Sue Foley is a very talented blues player and Patty Larkin is just fantastic; check out Banish Misfortune/Open Hand , either the studio or live version.
And I love Susan Tedeschi but am I the only one that thinks Dereck Trucks sounds screechy? Or is he always just in the wrong key?
