GuitarWorld? Or TotalGuitar or both? Make a run at a
roughly top 100 (with also rans) break it up into
ROCK / BLUES / EARLY INNOVATORS / METAL AF METAL GUITARISTS / "SHRED" / ALT-INDIE / PRINCE / PUNK / JAZZ and FUSION / BEST IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW in a badly navigable multi-page list (might be more user friendly on mobile than desktop, you sort of have to notice the navigation drop down on desktop):
BEST ROCK GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME1. Brian May
2. Hendrix
3. Page
4. EVH
5. GOD
6. Gilmour
7. Blackmore
8. Lifeson
9. Beck
10. Slash
11. Santana
12. Knopfler
13. AY/MY
14. Gary Moore
15. Gibbons
16. Duane
17. Joe Walsh
18. Keif
19. Zappa
20. Harrison
with about another 20 also rans
listedMay #1 overall seems click-baity. Not sure how you don't have Hendrix/Page/Beck/EVH/Clapton as the top 5 by default.
BLUES (probably next to rock what people talk about when they talk about guitarists rankings)
SRV, BB KING, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Johnson, Samanth Fish makes the also rans with Healey and several others
EARLY INNOVATORS
Chuck Berry, Les Paul, Hank Marvin
with Dick Dale, Maybelle Carter, Bo Diddley et al as also rans
METAL AF METAL GUITARISTS
Iommi, Dimebag, Rhoads -- tho I'd put Rhoads top 10 in any category...Cocaine and the opening lick of Crazy Train
are the first things 90% of people who picked up a guitar over the last 3+ decades learn to play.
"SHRED"
Vai, Malmsteen, Satriani, Buckethead + more + more also rans
ALT/INDIE
Marr (solid choice), tho then you have the guy from RHCP next and RHCP suck. Jack White, Morello makes more sense on this list than ahead of Vaugh/Rhoads on any list, guy from Dino Jr, Cobain, Radiohead guy, Billy Corgan and Thurston Moore, guy from MBV, Peter Buck shows up in the also rans here
TRAILBLAZERS
Prince ...just Prince
kinda cool and appropriate to have Prince in his own category
with Nile Rodgers/Dylan, Motown guy and other also rans
PUNK
Johnny Ramone, Steve and Mick Jones (not related, not ever in the same band, as far as I know), Fugazi guys, Green Day guy...then you get Tom Verlaine and David Byrne and Joan Jett as also rans here
JAZZ and FUSION Category
go look it up if you wanna know:
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/th ... ll-time/11Larry Carlton the only name here I recognize, oh, and Metheny in the also rans here.
BEST IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW:
Nita Strauss
Erja Lyytinen
Mateus Asato
Plini
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
Tim Henson & Scott LePage
Jason Richardson
Ichika Nito
Nick Johnston
Yvette Young
and again more also rans
They cite youtube as the source of a few of the current "best in the world rn" guitarists fame and notoriety
oh, they also have an ACOUSTIC category for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon and Richard Thompson and similar