They are all great in their own way, but I think Jhon Mayer and Derek Trucks are the better than Frusciante.

Let me repost that… They are all great in their own way, but I think John Mayer and Derek Trucks are better than Frusciante.

Those are 3 awesome guitar players who deserve that title I think two guys who are especialyl always overlooked because they are in a Prog band is Caludio Sanchez and Travis Steever of Coheed and Cambria

I feel so bad for Derek Trucks. When I get my RS magazine in the mail, his head will be replaced with my address.

Otherwise this is a pretty cool cover.

Thanks RS for finally posting the video. Looking forward to buying the issue – this one will be a keeper.

looks like you should have just given mayer the cover…that would have been better anyways…

frusciante is the best
love him

ummm… mike mccready??

it’s nice to see rolling stone having genuine music stars on their front cover instead of Fergie!!!!!! I can never forgive you guys for that.

They are all fine players,but Frusciante is my favorite,and I think he is far better than Mayer!

I just wish John was in the middle facing us,now I have to have my magazine upside down all the time!

What about that guy from Nitro…Michaelangelo…he is the greatest modern guitar player

Buckethead.

I can’t wait for the Cowbell Gods issue…featuring the Hall of Fame
Blue Oyster Cult…Don’t Fear The Reaper
Mountain…Mississippi Queen
QOTSA…Little Sister
Bring on the debate…

what’s with the mayer worship? he’s really not doing anything too spectacular. and you should have just given him the cover instead of insulting the other 2, who are much better btw, by placing them upside down.

I met Derek Trucks once in Akron Ohio in 2001 and asked him what he thought about The Edge and he said he didn’t know who that was. When I told him he was from U2 he said he never listened to them but he was always open to listening to new music.

I think that the only reason that Mayer got the middle was because he’s currently dating Jessica Simpson. He’s still very good too but I like Frusciante way better. Hes more original. Trucks just doesnt appeal to the masses the way these 2 do so hes very lucky in this day in age to even get a piece of the cover with all this mainstream music that’s out there.

Derek Trucks Band on the cover, period! Check em out http://www.derektrucks.com

DT is on tour with Clapton right now, but when he’s with his band he is on FIRE!

Guitar Gods?—those are non-existant now….what the hell, Slash and Zakk are the last of a dieing breed.

i cant even begin to comprehend how you guys could label those other guys as guitar gods…..i cant think of a worse insult

The new undisputed king of blues guitarist is definitely Dan Auerbach of the black keys, you won’t hear your body is a wonderland from him.

johnny is the man. blood sugar at 18, but his voice is what transformed the chili peppers into one of rocks most complete bands.

preposterous. frusciante should be dead center. definitely the riff voice of our generation.

Frusciante is a great overall guitarist, considering he sounds like no other. Then there are two blues style guitarists; one, Derek Trucks, who is legit, considering he is a slide guitar wiz, and an amazing jazz guitarist as well; two, you got John Mayer, who is only mediocre, and just got “discovered” as a blues guitarist.DT and JF were both child protigies. If you look at Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists, JM isnt even on there, but there are plenty of amazing guitarists that are on there, and ones that are better, that arent. (Mike McCready still deserves a slot) I would like to have seen JM be replaced by Tom Morello, or Mike McCready.
Plus, why does JM have the only rightside up, middle slot on the cover?

Somebody mentioned Blood Sugar at 18. Enough said. All very talented but Johnny F takes the cake. Saw him Quebec live, in a league of his own. Nice to see he got recognized for it.
Rock N Roll

PRINCE is THE guitar God!

Where’s the guitarist from Panic At The Disco?

Stop your whining, everyone! All 3 guitarist are worthy of the cover and all three are brilliant in their own styles: no one is better than the other.

Sheesh, did they have to put two of the three upside down? now my mailing label is gonna cover dereks head.

and HEY – whoever has any doubt about the originality of Derek Trucks’ playing should watch this video….hell even Mayer is giving him props!

good stuff, RS, thanks for getting it right this time! i was about to cancell my subscription after the Panic!at the Disco cover.

John Frusciante !!!!!!!!!!!!!

John is amazing!

people posing with guitars who actually play guitar on the cover…it is getting better.

Why did you put Timberlake with a wet tee shirt and a guitar he doesn’t even play on the cover?

i find it funny that a few years ago rollingstone put jack white ahead of frusciante when it made it’s list of the 100 greatest guitarist of all time…now frusciante is considered a god…don’t get me wrong i think frusciante is the most important gutiarist of our time

Claudio is definitely great.
What about Synyster Gates? He plays a mean lead guitar. He’s even taken to inventing his own scale!

Prince rocks. Therefore he is.

It is about freaking time you put John Mayer on the cover of Rolling Stone.

John Mayer is fucking retarded and so are all the people that like him.

Go eat shit.

I was two seconds away from writing Rolling Stone an angry letter about the fact that John Mayer has never been on the cover. It is about time.

hey! I’m with that guy.

It’s true AND hilarious.

John Mayer can go eat 40 cocks.

doug martsch pleeeeease

Frusciante is amazing. His solo work is even better than his work with the Chilis. As far as the other two, here are two who are far better…
Mike McCready – have you ever seen him do an Evenflow solo?
Buckethead – his earwax is tighter and faster than anything you’ll ever do.

Derek Trucks is one of the best guitar players out there. I’ve met him. He’s a very humble person. Everyone should definitely check out Derek Trucks Band or watching rip it up in the Allman Brothers Band with Warren Haynes.

John Mayer? Derek Trucks? GuitarGODS? Ok, i definitly agree with John Fruciante, he’s one of my favorites. Besides, not only JF but also RHCP have proved that they’re great (at least to my oppinion) but Trucks and Mayer? One or two years ago no one even knew him, don’t you think it’s a bit too early to call him a god. (Since the word god meens a legend like Hendrix or even Slash here.)Trucks isn’t that amazing either, by the way.

So insulting to put Mayer, the least talented of the three, rightside up and the other 2 upside down.

John Frusciante a “new” guitar god? homeboys been in the game far longer then John Mayer and Derek Trucks, Frusciante doesnt belong in the same category as Mayer and Trucks, he belongs in the same category with Zakk Wylde and Tom Morello

Is this the area where we can audition for “who wants to be a Rolling Stone writer,” on MTV? Oh its not, Exactly, so please I beg you tool bags to stop crying and take out your dirty rags. There will never be the greatest guitar player ever, there will be the greatest innovator, which I think Jimi hendrix was, not the greatest guitar player, or Jerry Garcia, who admitted to being jealous of many of his peers for being more technically sound than him, however he could move a crowd to levels that only he could.

All 3 of these guys are insane, until you get to their level of stardom of “GOD LIKE” status, which is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of, than please shut your holes, your opinions mean nothing to me or the rest of US wannabe’s!! PEACE OUT

Saw Derek play with Clapton in Atlanta a while back and he blew the roof off the place. Anyone who has Slowhand bowing down to him deserves the cover of RS!

My faith in the magazine and David Fricke are restored… TOTALLY.

GO DTB!

Where in the hell is Monte Montgomery?

Frusciante..definitely a god *_*

This magazine is way too corporate for their choices to matter, they’re just going to pick the “guitar gods” who sell the most albums or move the most magazines, why do you think Mayer’s in the middle? They’ve been in the record industry’s back pocket since the 70s… I will concede that Frusciante deserves the nod though, brilliant, just wish he was right side up on the cover.

People just hate on Mayer because he’s famous and a pretty boy. Once you get passed that sooner or later you’ll have to acknowledge his guitar playing.
Hell, he plays with BB King, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Prince. They know a thing or two about blues guitar playing and they seem to respect him.
I also prefer this cover to say Panic at the Disco or Fergie, since these boys actually play rock and roll instead of trash pop. (Well except maybe “Your Body is a Wonderland”…)
_______
velvet howler.com

So glad Mayer’s on the cover. Saw him live last week, he is so amazing and has so much ability with the guitar. You people who don’t like Mayer, you suck. Cock.

I was dragged to see John Mayer after his first release. HE SUCKED!, worste concert I’ve ever seen. He messed up ‘Message in the Bottle’- Police liek three times, along with a shit load of his own songs.

Wow. And all it took was a relationship with Jessica Simpson to get John Mayer on the cover of Rolling Stone. He was a great guitarist before the high profile he’s gotten from dating that airhead. Too bad you didn’t notice then.

Do you people know anything at all about music? John Mayer and Derek Trucks are two of the best guitar players alive today. Take a hint, why would Clapton, Buddy Guy, Scofield and the continued list of legends want to play with them?

never heard of derek trucks before, but damn…he blows the other two guys out of the water! white boy has soul…(mayer sounds good too, frusciante seemed a bit scared imo, but hes still great)

It’s so narrow minded to bring up Your Body Is a Wonderland as part of your arguement, why not bring up neon, that song is amazing and I bet you anything that Frusciante can’t play it.Stop generalizing based on what you hear on the radio, you people are idiots. The chili peppers are good, but when it comes to straight playing and musical knowledge Frusciante shouldn’t even be in the same catagory as Mayer. You people need to come off your high horse and shut the fuck up. By the way, to the idiot who is still holding a grudge against a magazine (that’s pathetic in itself), get over it, fergie was popular and they thought itr was a good idea, I don’t think it was a good idea but it’s in the past. No matter what RS does you people bitch like no tommorrow.

Where is the video???

John Mayer is the greatest modern guitarist on the planet. He is substantially more talented than Frusciante. Those of you dropping insults can eat my ass, then go back and listen to Try! and Continuum. Mayer’s music cures cancer. Had he been born earlier the Black Plague and leprosy would not have been so bad. Everything he does turns to sonic gold. Given the chance, I’d go brokeback all over him.

The NEW guitar gods.
After watching that video how can you complain, whether you new them or not. They are all amazing! They all seem to respect eachother.

Mayer’s personal life and looks have nothing to do with it.
Those who diss him have never seen him live, that man can play!

I must say, there are a few very un-informed, whiney, mid 30’s indie kids in this comment section.

I can’t stop laughing at comments like how “insulting it is to have Mayer in the middle” and how he can go “eat 40 cocks” I believe it was..

WAKE UP BOYS! IT HASN’T BEEN THE “DAUGHTERS” SHOW FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW..

If you look at it from all angles, you can clearly se that Mayer has changed alot since his early days.

You wouldn’t even know him, if your eyes were closed.

(se how smoothly I slipped that in there Mayer fans… *taps nose* watch and learn…)

He has earned this level of respect. Just accept it and move on.

As always..
hrer=”http://www.musician slove johnmayer.com”>Musicians Love John Mayer

Thank you Sarah. You are wise beyond your years. Unless you’re old, then you are just wise. If anyone can see John Mayer live and not be blown away that person has no soul and, in males, no penis.

Hmmm… I’m doing that link again.. it appears i’m not allowed to use html

http://www.musicianslovejo hnmayer.com

Oh.. whatever… you know what I was trying to achieve… but hey look.. smileys..

>:( :p >:( :p

how annoying…

Listen (very closely) to John Mayer’s album Try!. Pay attention to the solos on Wait Till Tomorrow, Try, and I Got A Woman. Then listen to Out Of My Mind. If you still can honestly say that John Mayer can’t play the guitar, I will castrate myself.

I can’t stand these people that disregard Mayer simply because he’s popular and once put out an acoustic-heavy lovey-dovey album(i.e. “Slim”). More so, I hate indie lovers who label any mainstream music sorry. May John Mayer live to be a thousand years old.

YES! Listen to TRY!
And Your welcome Voice of Reason. I am not old, but I do know good music when I hear it, and those guys are good music.
And why would all of the greats, along with new artists, want Mayer to play with them? “I don’t need no doctor” with Scofield for example was amazing!
Because that man can play!

My own opinion is that Frusciante should have been in the middle. He’s been a Guitar God since forever. He’s mindblowingly amazing.

Didn’t John Mayer just come out of the closet? Heard he was David Geffen’s slam pig….

Hey Sarah will you date me?

Heard he was a pickle-smoocher…

You can tell just from this little snippet how much better Derek is than the other two. Look at how they respond to his playing. Derek isn’t even coming close to trying there and he has them both going.

I also love that Derek quoted South Park with the Brown Noise.

I think rule number one about being a guitar god is that you can play pussy music. I thank rolling stone, but I can not accept this award.

I don’t know Frusciate’s solo work at all so I will withhold judgement. But with all due respect to all three of these guys, Derek’s playing has a depth of soul, tonality (Mayer knows), and articulation that transcends anything contemporary that I have heard. The fact that he made the cover of RS is surprising because his (the Derek Trucks Band) music is not made for pop consumption. It is real nourishment in a mostly saccharine music world.

All 3 are phenomenal at what they do individually, no question. Mayer has definitely done some good stuff, no doubt. Remember Austin City Limits?? Buddy Guy? Double Trouble? When Buddy Guy AND Double Trouble will play with you, no questions asked, that’s a testament.

And Frusciante is, an integral part of the Chili Pepper sound, a sound that if it had any other guitar player, would be an entirely different sound.

Derek…what else is there to say! The kid is absolutely mind-boggling, some of the stuff he pulls off! My personal favorite out of the 3.

(While sternly glaring at Skullfreak)-
I heard you enjoy balls in your face while you paint your toe nails and weep hysterically during a Brokeback Mountain screening in your biker costume at the annual GLAAD convention and parade.

I say this a bit tongue-in-cheek, because obviously I would never advise this seriously, but the Chili Peppers stopped making good, edgy music when they stopped doing hard drugs. Seriously…”Californication” and “Stadium Arcadium” are the alt-rock equivalent of Sting’s solo albums.

And John Mayer has some decent chops, but he’s not THAT great, and his songs are so pussified, who cares if he can play a solo? Where’s the rock, yo?

awesome, John Mayer’s great

I never heard that Derek Trucks guy, sound pretty good

ANOTHER cover with a PLAIN WHITE BACKGROUND! youse guys are KILLING ME!

Steve, I am running out of strength. Mayer writes incredibly relative lyrics in a clever way, has an amazing improvisational prowess, attempts to stay on the same plane with his fans, has a great personality, writes great songs, is innovative, plays elaborate solos but has mastered restraint, is extremely melodic, I could go on for novels. If your problem is that his music is mid-tempo and contains little to no distortion that’s fine, but if you’re a music lover you have to respect him. If you don’t I will find out where you live and shove q-tips painfully far in your ears.

It’s about time Mayer is being recognized for his guitar genius and not just his songwriting (which is what brought him to the forefront). He’s the total package.

How are Jack White and Tom Morello not modern guitar gods? I know Morello’s fallen off with audioslave garbage, but he and White are nasty.

In my humble opinion, John Mayer is not in the same league as Frusciante or Trucks. Having said that I believe that Frusciante surpasses the abilities of Trucks as well. When taken into perspective, it is evident that neither Trucks nor Mayer are innovators. They play the blues (which I love), where it all began…Frusciante on the other hand ran with guitar-he’s been coming up with incredible new sounds and non-linear songs for ages. For me, to call someone a guitar ‘god’ they should be looking forward while keeping the early roots of rock in their mind, not stepping backwards. Don’t get me wrong, we need the blues but what we need more is an incredibly talented musician (John also plays piano, bass) who can bring genuinely good music back into mainstream culture.

HEY! John Frusciante is the BEST guitarist out of these guys. compared to them they are like Beginners and he is at the top of his game. John’s solo work is great and I LOVE it! But him in the Chili Peppers is totally mind blowing amazing!! Listen to there music b 4 John and it sounds more sloppy and jumbled but with John its like he clarified that up totally. he has a clean but at the same time totally ROCKING hard core!!! I love the Chili Peppers SO GOD DAMN MUCH!!! If u r going to compare him to these guys forget about it! give that guy a god damn award SOME ONE!!

If you think Derek is a blues guy…you don’t know Derek. Blues is only part of his repertoire.
And if you think recent Red Hot’s is actually innovative you need to jump off right now.

Clearasil is clarifying…so what.

John Frusciante should’ve been in the middle, too bad that magazines always go for commercial pretty boys with scandals in pockets and famous girlfriends (I am dissing mr Mayer’s music, just the general taste in people!), and he’s a person who has a different form of both physical and mental beauty…

…plus he’s the greatest guitar player alive and, in my humble opinion, one of the best vocalists in the modern music these days. He can practically play anything, he can practically sing anything and lyrics to the most of his songs are breathtakingly beautiful.

Let’s hope he gets to be on the cover alone someday.

I meant to say “I am NOT dissing mr Mayer’s music”. Didn’t check what I’ve written, sorry.

You know what cracks me up?? When I read that Mayer must be great because he has worked with Double Trouble, BB King, Clapton, Buddy Guy and many others. This is true, these guys wouldn’t be wasting their time with Mayer if he wasn’t great but there is another side. These guys are smart enough to know being mentioned in the same sentence as Mayer equals sales/publicity. Mayer is money. RS knows it too. That is why he is in the middle.

Looks like Rolling Stone has run out of ideas…they are so lame…c’mon guys…I’m waiting for a great story or cover….do something crazy like britney nude…or on jennifer hudson…I’m tired of all this rock shit…it’s all shit!!

Why does God have to damn so much? He has nothing to do with this. You know, Stevie Ray went “backwards”. He just wanted to play like Hendrix. Does that mean Frusciante is better than Stevie Ray Vaughan? Granted Vaughan put his own spin on things, but so does Mayer. Why is everyone so impressed with Frusciante? Yeah, he’s been around a long time, big deal. He’s good, he’s innovative, but he’s not better than Mayer. Just watch this video, Frusciante hardly does anything, why? Because he’s out of his element. He’s a good writer, but part of being a guitar god is the ability the adapt to any one and any style. When Frusciante goes and plays with Buddy Guy, Clapton, Double Trouble, Kanye West, the Dixie Chicks, Maroon 5, and the slew of other artists that have asked Mayer to play with them I’ll give him his due. In this video he plays the basic E-A blues progression. I can do that. Mayer and Trucks look way more comfortable than Frusciante does, because he is out of his stylistic bounderies.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers (in addition to thinking up the dumbest band name in music history, multiple ridiculous videos (”Give It Away”) and a less than impress musical catalog) have always been a hinderance to John Frusciante, who is an exceptional guitarist. Derek Trucks is no Duane Allman, and I’ll never understand how nor why he replaced Dickey Betts, but he is an amazing slide guitarist, and besides, who else is playing slide now? And finally, John Mayer, who is certainly one of the most amazing singer-songwriters currently recording, not to mention his guitar skill. Of the 3 guitarists on the cover, John Mayer is the only one who has his own signature electric Fender Stratocaster & signture Martin acoustic. He’s well endorsed too: B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, & Buddy Guy. All in all, a well-rounded, diverse, and respectable trio to represent the “New Guitar Gods.” All 3 of these guys are well deserving of the honor which Rolling Stone has bestowed upon them.

Wow.
Double Trouble, BB King, Clapton, Buddy Guy and many others did not waste their time with John Mayer. To say that the only reason they played with him was for the “sales/publicity”, is an insult to those great musicians!
They play together because they are amazing and the respect eachother. Which is something that is needed around here today.

How cool was that at the end of the clip when Mayer and Fruc just stop playing and are in fucking awww of Trucks. That’s respect man. Very cool.

it truly saddens me that people are basing frusciante’s skill on that lame ass video. He can run circles around both of those guys! He knew what he was doing there, and his inpsiration hardly comes from a corporate money making machine like this magazine. It’s not like mayer was giving anyone else any room to do anything else anyways. What is so special about someone playing recycled blues scales over and over and over and over and over!! Whoever was in charge of the video obviously said, “look mayer is dating simpson, he’s more popular than either one of you guys and he’s selling this issue, so you two lay back and let mayer do all the playing.” I’d love to see frusciante and trucks jam together on their own terms!!

You know why Mayer is in the middle…because he got 5 Grammy Nominations. And for VERY GOOD reasons. His music has come so far in the last 3 years. TRY! is one of the best live records to come out in a long time. He played with greats like Steve Jordan(drums) and Pino Palladino(bass). Those guys wouldn’t waste their time on just anybody. Then there is of course the long list of people he has collaborated with. They aren’t saying JM is the best guitar player in the world. They are just recognizing him for the accomplishments he has made and the direction he is going in.

If you are a doubter of Mayer. Pick up TRY! and Continuum. Better yet…pick up his first acoustic EP from ‘99 titled Inside Wants Out and then listen to TRY! and Continuum and see how INCREDIBLY far he has grown as a guitar player. The proof is right there.

johny greenwood is not playing blues but can kick these 3 ass…and playing guitar like a monster is not a thing if you don’t have a soul.if it’s not that,malmsteen would be the best artist…

it was those maxaloadian scales that got to me the most…and how about them suspended chords!…ah!…and did you check out that twelve fret reach?…jeeez…did you check that out?…i think that’s a boss effects pedal…did you hear that fuckin’ thing?…ahhhhh!…

what’s that smell? beer and duct tape?…yuk!..

yeah i’m gonna agree with the lack of johnny greenwood being that i’m an avid radiohead fan. though i can understand why he was left out..i mean radiohead haven’t had an album since 2003 though i’m sure their album later on this year is gonna be insane!

but i don’t think these three are clearly amazing guitarists..rs owes us musicians this after that bull shit emo panic at the disco cover.

ahhh i mean they are great guitarists..my bad

frusciante is fantastic. if you’ve followed him longing enough you know he is a bit of a wack job, he lives in his own little world. i think thats why he doesn’t look as comfortable as the other two guys. do not judge his guitar playing on what you see in the clip. if you do you’re an idiot. they’re playing differnt parts. JF probably played the rhythm part by chance. not because of lack of skill. who cares about kanye west and maroon 5. What does it matter that he has not played with these people. artist being featured on each others albums rarely happens in rock n roll, thats more common in hip hop.”ramparts”, “cabron”, his work on the ataxia album, and “a doubt” show how talented JF is.

Is it American culture that makes music into competition or is that way naturally? Why do we have to list musical talent on a linear scale?

Sarah, I think you are great! I love that you champion Mayer. I do too! I pay the yearly fee to be in Mayer’s fanclub and I go to his concerts regularly. I pre-ordered Try! in hopes I would be one of the lucky 100 to get the autographed poster (btw, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones). He is amazing.

I think that you misunderstood my previous post. I think that people who say that Mayer must be great because he has worked with the greats are selling him short. They recognize that he is great and that is why they work with him. On the other hand, it helps them too. You and I both know that MANY Mayer fans would not have heard of SRV, Buddy Guy, BB King without Mayer. That is all I am saying.

Why does everyone say Frusciante is not as skilled as the other two If you have ever seen him play live it is a hell of alot better than some of his album stuff and what is seen in that video. Plus JF seems to be kind of a shy guy in that situation in the video and it seems like to me he wants to let the young guys have the spotlight they deserve especially Derek Trucks.

FG, sorry I missunderstood you. I stand corrected! I too am a member and I pre-ordered TRY! Good stuff.
I have been checking out Trucks and Frusciante a little more, they really are amazing too!
I just wish people could express their favorites with out crapping on the others. It is a list of the top 20, I look forward to seeing what other guitar greats they have on there!
Peace Baby!

Frusciante’s kind of the odd man out on this cover. He’s a much better guitar player than the other two, but his style is much different. They went with two slowed down, blues type dudes and then a guy that uses synthesisers, which would be cool if I could spell. I still think John’s the best, and at least he’s happy, Mayer looks like someone put a bannana in his butt.

John Mayer is without the best guitarist of the early 21st century. Yeah when he first came out, I thought he was just another pretty boy, overhyped because, “Oh he’s got a guitar with him in the cover of his CDS, He really can’t play it.” This guy is an underrated musician and I am proud to call myself a fan. John Fruscinate’s guitar work on Stadium Arcadium is Hendrix ‘esque. But he’s really good.

Derek Trucks is incredible, I’ve only begun to listen to him in the past year and I’m blown away. Everybody should check him out especially because he gets so much less publicity and recognition than he deserves.

Jack White, no contest

What about Jeff Beck??

Dissing John Mayer in comparison to the other guys is like dissing Tiger Woods because he can’t drive a ball as far as those guys who enter Longest Drive Competitions. They may drive a ball further than Tiger, but who is winning the Majors? Last time I checked, Mayer was the only one selling multi-platinum solo records AND exhibiting tons of musical talent. End of story.

great cover RS!
Finally, you rock!
Really liked Derek Trucks in the video. Despite being less famous than the other two, he shows talent and dedication to his music!
Still, I think that John Frusciante SHOULD be in the middle! He has had a crucial role in making RHCP one of the best bands in the world today. Plus, in his solo work, his music is more than innovative, inspiring and…beautiful.
And stop saying that only Mayer is pretty. Fru is really charming too and doesn’t have to date Simpson to make us see it!
Anyway, I can’t wait to see the new RS in Greece and I hope that John Frusciante will get his individual cover soon…He IS a god!

Is Keith Urban on the list?

John Frusciante seperates himself from the other two with his innovativeness on the in regards to what he creates with the guitar. Frusciante is the most talened all around muscian of the 3 also. John Mayer the most famous and D. Trucks is the most talented slide guitarist on the planet.

John Frusciante was only 22 when he played his guitar parts on Blood Sex Sugar Magic one of the most unique diplays of guitar skills we have ever seen on that album. Trucks is a great player and Mayer is overrated pretty boy but neither have been able to come close to what Frusicante has been able to do and thats not a knock on the other 2.

im i the only one who thinks John Frusciante looks out of place in this video. His style is completely different from the trucks and mayer who are more of your basic blues player although trucks in incredible i will say that but mayer come on.

In response to Matt – Jack White (though I love his music) is one of the worst guitar players ever! He barely knows how to play and relies on other bandmates to pick up the slack. These three guys are all completely different in style and originality and are equally great guitar players/musicians.

Warren Haynes…

“Last time I checked, Mayer was the only one selling multi-platinum solo record”

So effing what? Since when did the number of albums sold become the measure of talent? They’re all good, let’s face it. I don’t care as much for Mayer, but I can give him his due, because he certainly has the chops. Wether I like it or not.

At least they cover up Panic at the disco with some real musicians

Anyone who disses Frusciante does not play guitar and should probably keep their ignorant opinions to themselves. John Mayer is good at running through blues progressions really fast. Yay! Trucks is a phenomenal slide player, but JF is by far the one who pushes the envelope more than any other guitarist since Tom Morello.

“No I never named my strat”
Hahah that made me laugh
Okay now onto the jam.
I was really impressed by Derek, that man has some style. On blues terms he is way better than Frusciante because they both have different styles of music, but if John would have brought out his own playing, which I can’t ever seem to put in a classification so I just call it the Frusciante, Trucks would have been blown out of the water. The video was awesome, Trucks is an amazing guitar player, I have to admit, but John Frusciante will always win in my book, he’s the most innovative, bringing in new things instead of going back to the past and trying to keep it alive.
Finally, John Mayer didn’t really stand out to me, I heard John’s rhythm guitar perfectly, it was catchy, but I never seem to catch on to what John Mayer was trying to get at, but Derek Trucks takes the cake in this jam!

John | 2/7/2007, 5:49 pm EST

In response to Matt – Jack White (though I love his music) is one of the worst guitar players ever! He barely knows how to play and relies on other bandmates to pick up the slack. These three guys are all completely different in style and originality and are equally great guitar players/musicians.

How dumb are you dude? Ever heard of the White Stripes. It´s him an a drummer…who the fuck is covering up for him…the band IS him.

Fuck off. Fact is, just a few years ago Rolling Stone itself named him the 19th best guitarist OF ALL TIME, and now for whatever reason, they choose to ignore him.

You obviously know shit. Moron.

If you’re unfamiliar dig into The Derek Trucks Band catelog, both the latest CD and DVD “Songlines”. Derek is not just a retro blues guy. He’s heavily influenced by world music and takes a pretty groundbreaking and progressive approach to what would otherwise be described as roots music. He’s pushing the music forward which is the key, and probably the reason Fricke chose him for the cover.

Said to see Frusciante limited to playing that same old boogie woogie rhythm. Now if the three went for a straight up rock jam, he would kick trucks and mayer’s asses.

Of the guitarists here, I order them as follows.

1.Frusciante (becuase he’s got the most varied style)

2.Trucks (because he plays with his fingers sans pick and plays some mean slide, but thats it really)
3.Mayer (because he’s your absolute standard blues player. Come on, Mayer, let’s see your hard rock chops)

RS, if you don’t got Johnny Greenwood in the top twenty this time, or if you put Jack White before hime, I’ll knock your teeth out. Now there’s an absolute original.

Wow mayer is a spotlight hog in this video? even when its trucks turn to solo he’s still trying to get in there. John Frusciante is the best hands down. don’t be fooled by the fact that he isn’t trying as hard as he can to show off in this video (like john mayer)

Yeah, Derek definitely pushes his guitar playing into new places. When he’s with the Allmans or Clapton he respectfully does what the gig calls for (and nails it!) but on his own he stretches out and shows his own progressive sound.

btw, Derek doesn’t just play slide. He can rip standard playing and never uses a pick or any effects, just straight into a vintage amp. He can play coltrane flourishes like he’s breathing. No one trick pony for sure. dig deeper to really find out what he’s doing, or better yet go to a live DTB gig

It’s all about Trucks. JF yea his rips, Mayer, well who cares…he’s good and all but..but D. Trucks…bringing new light to music around the globe. Stay tuned and hit a live show.

Hey – can you put the clip up WITHOUT the interview and just with all three of them playing?

First of all…John Frusciante is a god, let that be known…for any skeptics out there – he’s more of an experimental guitar player, and he really plays his own unique style that belongs to him alone (if anything, it’s rooted in funk and rock)…the other two are bluesmen – sure they have their own style, but it’s based mostly on blues…Johnny (Frusciante) doesn’t subscribe to any one particular style such as blues….But the fact is, you put anybody in a room with two bluesmen, and there’s gonna be some blues happening – and that’s not what the Red Hot Chili Peppers or John Frusciante as a soloist are known for…I personaly think he sounded great…and I missed it the first time, what’s wrong with a little rythm anyways? You can’t just do a crazy solo with nothing to back it up…You end up just sounding like the Eruption kid wanking it at sam ash. Long live the Johns (and Derek too).

With that out of the way…this is absolutely incredible to me…John Frusciante and John Mayer are my two favorite, living, touring, recording, playing guitar players around anywhere! Seeing them in a room together is just a magical thing.

John Mayer is amazing. Anyone who doesn’t like him I guarantee has never seen any of his live shows because the guitar playing he does live is the best I’ve ever seen. Who cares what he looks like or who he’s dating. It’s all about the music!

Hah another funny rolling stone article. “New” guitar gods? Last I checked john had been with the peppers for over 15 years (barring a brief heroin break). Trucks is good and mayer is no God. I’ve seen him live…nothing impressive. Whoever said he was the best they had ever seen clearly has not seen many musicians…good ones at least. Certainly not a guitar god. But would I expect a good credible music story from rolling stone? No. Why wouldn’t they feature a real modern guitar god like Herman Li or Justin King, two guys from opposite sides of the music spectrum who can play circles around the three cover boys. Well obviously because rolling stone wants to sell magazines…not have musical credibility.

Ive seen all 3 live and JOHN F is without a doubt the best.

Those of you complaining that John Mayer only knows the blues, you need to try and locate some recordings of John Mayer playing jazz/funk with Herbie Hancock (that’s right). I assure you that Mr. Mayer can hold his own in any genre.

i’d MUCH rather listen to MIKE McREADY of pearl jam over these 3 any day! he doesn’t seem to get the recognition he deserves. but they’re really good guitarists. (but mccready is better!)

I’m not going to comment on Mayer, Frusciante, or anyone else that has been mentioned in these comments nor am I going to partake in the “who’s better than who” commentary like it’s the Olympics or the MVP of the NFL that too often permeates “intellectual” music discussion.
I’m just going to debunk the myth that Mr. Trucks is purely blues based and that his style and abilities fit nicely into one box.

See his influences:
Duane Allman, Elmore James, BB King, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Django, Albert King, Jimmy Herring, Jack Pearson, Ali Akbar Khan, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Anoushka Shankar, and so on.
Here’s a link to wikipedia:
http://www.wikipedi a.org/

And not to sound dismissive of blues, as its by far one of my favorite genres, the stylings/modes/scales of jazz/be-bop/modal jazz and Indian Classical music are far different than that of standard blues.

To put him in a “blues only box” is doing him a disservice, especially when done so in a condescending manner.
There’s a reason why artists such as Clapton and John McLaughlin, to name a couple, seek Mr. Trucks.
If you see him live, Mr. Trucks will create a massive sheet of sound, slide in/out of notes, and has the ability of playing notes that tug at your soul…all with just one guitar, one amp, sans pick, and one Coricidin bottle.

Hey Aaron…wouldn’t you hope that mayer could hold his own in any kind of music. Is that your reasoning for him being a guitar god? If he were a guitar god he’d be able to play almost any genre unbelievably. John mayer can play guitar as well as about 10,000 other guitar players in America. Nothing he does is complicated, just scales, whether they be blues, rock, or jazz scales…who cares. He has no originality that should be considered Guitar god worthy. Go figure that Mayer gets virtually no coverage from any solely guitar publications. He doesn’t deserve the coverage and guitar players don’t desire anything about him.

Have seen all 3 live too – and they are all DIFFERENT and worthy of the cover. Yes, they have their specialties and styles, and its a matter of taste if you like one better than the other (I happen to appreciate all 3). All 3 have grown as musicians and are talented in their own right as I’m sure the rest of the list will be.

Mayer doesn’t deserve mention here- I don’t care what his numbers are. Go to any blues dive bar in about any city and you’ll find players that blow him out of the water, both technically and (more importantly) in their understanding of the music. Playing a fast lick doesn’t mean anything; look at John Lee Hooker. Man never played a 16th note in his life. Mayer obviously has musical sensibilities and he’s done well in the pop charts. If he’s ok with shamelessly forcing his way onto the blues scene through the teenybopper-backdoor, though, that sucks. Point is, his playing didn’t garner him recognition in the first place and it shouldn’t give him any now- and he knows it.

I have a Guitar Player magazine from last February with John Mayer on the cover. It talks about “The badass blues” Trio and features the John Mayer signature Strat. He must be doing something right.
-Just saying.

Frusciante is not a blues player.
And he will own John Mayers face in a rock jam.
Although Trucks did own that jam, Frusciante is still the best out there right now.

All three are excellent. John Frusciante ROCKS! If you don’t have Stadium Arcadium go check it out!

Personally, I love what John Mayer is doing for the record industry. When was the last time a mainstream act came along that could tear it up on the guitar like Mayer? When was the last time a guy who was selling millions of record only to totally change the formula and release an amazing live blues trio album? He pretty much did the reverse of selling out. I will probably get rocks thrown at me for saying this, but he pretty much revived the career of Buddy Guy and turned him on to a whole new generation. The guy is doing amazing things for blues music and deserves the cover.

What’s Rolling Stone’s rationale for determining what makes a guitar god? This is something I’d expect from People magazine. Someone like Eric Johnson can never get the credit he deserves – now there’s a guitar god.

How is Keith Urban not being discussed? He is one of the top guitarists in any genre of music. He is a Guitar God.

If Frusciante is so good why does he look afraid of the other two in the video?

Frusciante is not afraid. If you knew what he’s capable of you’d know that. I highly doubt any of these guys would think of themselves as the best – in fact I’d bet they don’t think that. That’s why they’re great..because they’re constantly striving for better.

how do you watch the video? i keep clicking on the link and it doesnt do anything.

Oh course Mayer is front and center because he is the TeenBeat heartthrob. “Your Body is a Wonderland” is one of the cheesiest songs ever written. The kind of song you expect to see Cameron Diaz sing into a hairbrush in a chick flick. Mayer is such an embarrassment.
Oh well, 2 out of 3 aint bad. At least RS isn’t putting Justin, Britney, Jessica or some other pop garbage on the cover yet again.

What a horrible idea for a video.
“I got an idea”… “Let’s have the three guys plugged in and play while we do the photo shoot!”
Wrong! This is a bad idea. Shoot the photos, interview the guys, or put them in an empty (at first) bar on a Wednesday afternoon and let them play. Don’t try to do all three at once. Total crap.
Just watch again and wait for the second where Mayer stares longingly at the camera as he tries to hold a note… It he was feeling it wouldn’t he either be looking down at his instrument or have his eyes closed (like he talked about seeing other blues players). I haven’t seen anything this contrived since the last episode of American Idol or a Mary J. Blige performance.

wont frusciantes head be covered by the barcode? he definetly deserves centre AND right side up

Mayer has uncle Tom lips…

Derek trucks is a guitar god. The guy has been playing live gigsnsince he was nine. For the love of god he is a Member of The Allman Brothers Band and he is on tour with Eric Clapton. Let’s just the Allman’s don’t have crappy guitar players, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, and Warren Haynes. All wonderful in their own way.

Mayer And Fursciante are also very
talented. Mayer is a great songwriter, and Fursciante has overcome many personal demons plus
the Chili Pepers rock. I love Blood, Sugar, SEx Magic.

But Live nobody compairs to Derek.
He also is very into world music.
Check Maki Madni/ Sahib Teri Bandi
incredible.

Rock on Derek you made it.

“Your Body is a Wonderland” is one of the cheesiest songs ever written. The kind of song you expect to see Cameron Diaz sing into a hairbrush in a chick flick.”

How many times are you gonna repeat the same thing? At least get a new joke – maybe one that’s funny.

what does contrive mean? is it french?

Chris, I couldn’t agree with you more when you said “… he(Mayer) pretty much revived the career of Buddy Guy and turned him on to a whole new generation. The guy is doing amazing things for blues music and deserves the cover.” Mayer turned many new ears to Buddy Guy, BB King, and even Clapton. Whenever he plays with any guitar great it makes news (see page 18 in the Panic at the Disco issue). He does sell millions of albums and he has a huge fanbase. Personally, I’m surprised Mayer hasn’t made the cover of RS already.

Mayer is great at educating his fans on the music he loves. Trust me when I say that there is quite a mixed bag of fans when you go to his concerts. Many are what I call Glitter Girls. They may love top 40 music but he exposes them to a world of music that will last with them for a lifetime. Pussycat Dolls are 2006, and JM and others like him are timeless. Soon those Glitter Girls are going to realize this.

Trucks is incredible, Frusciante makes the Chili Peppers, but it is too easy to sell Mayer short just because he wrote a few shitty pop songs on his first couple of records. He is quite talented and starting to write some songs that show that. Who knows if they’re the three best, that’s entirely subjective…rolling stone just uses that gimmick to sell magazines

For all the Mayer bashers listen up. He’s Berkley trained. For performance, the most competive major in the most prestigious guitar school in the nation. This guy has got his chops let there be no doubt about it. You may not like the fact that he has had commercial success as a pop star and I think he would agree with you.

That being said I’m a HUGE Derek fan (I’ve seen him over 50 times) its time that RS give him his due. the only down side is noe he’s gonna start playing larger venues and I won’t be able to gat as close to the stage as I did in the past.

I love the part in the clip where the Johns stop playing guitar and watch Derek do his thing. How great is he? The other two are stopped in their tracks to watch him. Also go to youtube and type in derek trucks and layla and watch Eric Clapton Turn around during the coda So HE can watch derek blow the roof off the place.

mayer is awesome, as are the other guys, bash mayer all you want but listen to his new album and its great, his cover of “bold as love” is awesome and he knows that the pop thing isnt him, but one thing the pop thing gave him was the opportunity to do his own thing, and make music he loves, and in the end thats what you want in a musician

frusciante solos from 2:10 to about 2:30…i agree that mayer tries to control the jam, but theyre all legit. JF seems a little out of his element, and thats no knock. if they wanted to show what he can do, why have a standard blues jam? how is that possibly pushing the envelope? i mean, wow, so they can do what guys were doing 40 years ago…that makes them innovative? i dont quite get it. im not bashing the guys themselves, just the setup.

Why must everyone compare? When you reach a certain level in music it’s irrelevant as to who is ‘better.’ Everyone is just different. They are all completely different guitarists. As a guitarist and someone who has heard all three of them play I find no need to say who is better. They are all great in their own way. PS….i hope we see omar rodriguez lopez in the top 22 or whatever. that list a few years ago was a joke. jack white (who is a great musician but has not reached that level) ahead of george harrison…ha.

how do i find the video???

Remember, years ago for his RS cover, when Kurt Cobain wore that T-shirt on which he’d scrawled, “Corporate Magazines Still Suck?”

Yeah.

It’s irrelevant who’s the more talented guitarist. RS put Mayer front and center because he sells magazines. And whether or not Frusciante or Trucks are better, doesn’t matter. RS, Us Weekly. It’s all the same. Dispiriting, sure. But they figure, hey the guy’s dating Jessica Simpson! Maybe some twelve year olds will buy a copy!

I mean, does anyone really take RS seriously anymore, as a music mag? Why be suprised? It’s a huge, mainstream publication.

I dig Frusciante, but more so in his own element. The Ataxia-album shows him in color. This was dull. Hey – even i can do a 12-bar blues jam, not saying they’re not good or anything. Great players but a boring idea.

ok, im having real trouble finding this video which i REALLY REALLY REALLY want to watch, please someone help me, Anthony UK

Chris said “I will probably get rocks thrown at me for saying this, but he (Mayer) pretty much revived the career of Buddy Guy and turned him on to a whole new generation.”

No, A-hole…you’re thinking of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Anthony – you need to have flash installed. All i can think of…

im on the mag preview page , i have installed flash , and still i have nothing, hmmmmm, tans for ur help though

Wow, simply beautiful! I love the genuine appreciation they have of each other, it’s about the music, not comparing. BTW, John looks peaceful, humble and attentive, like the lovely man he is. In fact all 3 of them looked so lovely in this same way. Thanks Rolling Stone for this grouping of today’s guitarists.

Why are all these people saying Frusciante is better because his style is so unique? All three of these guys are amazing. Mayer is technical, has great tone, creative. Yeah, he stays within the blues structure most of the time, but that’s his passion. He can venture out when he wants. JF is good at being creative. He may not be as techniacally good as the other two, but he’s still good. And what difference does it make if Mayer doesn’t play rock? Rock trancends from blues, he would be fine on a rock stage. Trucks is awesome to. In my opinion, all three of these guys are probably better than you, so you can consider all of them gods. Or post a link to your MySpace page and we’ll see if you can play better. Lights out.

I don’t think John Frusciante is out of his element,he’s just a laid back guy who doesn’t need to be the centre of attention or grab the spotlight from anyone. After all he’s been through in his life I think he just really loves music and playing,and thank god he is still with us to do just that!!

Derek is the MAN I have seen him tons of times and he is one of the best alive today.

Ha! This all jam is straight from 60’s. I want to hear their playing alone, showing their own specialities, not Derek Trucks blues-jam. And why the most prettiest boy is on the front?! I hope that the story is better…

Very cool….these 3 are great …. if I woudn’t know these three and I saw that the first time….I would say (technical) that the other two are better…..!

but I think frusciante doesn’t show…..in an interwiew frusciante said that he could (for example) as fast as these heavy metal guitarists (and I believe that because he learns guitar the whole day if he’s not on tour)

Attempting to rank guitar players is a fairly useless endeavor for me. There are times when I want to hear Clapton, times when I want to hear Clapton and Allman, times when I want to hear Hendrix, B.B., Tony Iommi, et al. Personally, music either sets the mood or the mood picks the music I’d enjoy most at any given moment. To state that any one of these three is the better guitarist AS AN ABSOLUTE seems both both useless and petty to me if not trivial. All three can play and play well. As to the comment that Frusciante would tear Derek Trucks up in a straight rock jam only suggests to me that the author of the comment has clearly not heard a recent version of Whipping Post.

And one other thig: that clip is far too short! MORE JAM, LESS TALK!!

THING, one other THING… duhhh…

derek trucks…flat out

Dweezil, is that you?

i just got Derek’s DVD Songlines Live and it’s off the hook. Proof positve he deserves to be on the cover

This video is a real gem. Not only does it sound good, it looks great too. Great idea.

that vidoe is fuking incredible

GibsonMan, man… check out The Allman Brothers Live at the Beacon DVD for some more Derek, guaranteed you’ll like that too.

Did anyone here ever see Jimi play, “live”? It is impressive to me that these three guys are in awe of the man that actually changed the way electric music is played, recorded and produced, forever. That these three show both intellect, creativity and talent as well as a spiritual awe of Jimi is proof enough that they are awsome players. There are so many great guitarists around. All three of these boys are wonderful players and well qualified. I have heard and seen them all “live” and they are absolutely wonderful players, writers and musicians. It’s just that Jimi shook the tree and changed eveythng. Ever ask yourelf why guitarists love Stevie Ray and why Buddy Guy transcends generations? bBecause they suond like Jimi, no doubt about it – tone, chops, etc. Jimi loved Buddy Guy and you cna hear it in his chops on Red House. Clapton, Harrison, Allman, they are all great individual players, but when Jimi arrived in London, they all had to reinvent their egos, comletely crushed. Jimi was and is the only true guitar god. All of the rest follow in the masters foot steps. Now, let’s put this all in perspective:

“Men do not live by bread alone – so with nations, they are not saved by art, but by honesty, not by the gilded splendor of wealth, but by the hidden treasure of manly virtue, not by the multitudinous gratifications of the flesh, but by the celestial guidance of the spirit.”

- Frederick Douglass, speech in New York, Aug. 6, 1857.

Frusciante, Josh Homme, and Jack White would be my choices. Derek Trucks is very good and so is John Mayer but Josh Homme and Jack White have done much more for music with their guitars than Trucks or Mayer. I would much rather listen to the interesting solos that those two play than recycled blues solos that Mayer indulges in (he’s still good, Mayer fans, don’t worry, just not all that interesting). Jack White, on the other hand has created one of the most famous bands in the world based almost entirely on his guitar playing. In fact he’s the only guitar player in today’s popular music scene that I would give “larger-than-life guitar hero” status

Cannibus, your timeline is a little off. Jimi Hendrix was playing London and acheiving his initial success in 1966. Are You Experienced, Jimi’s first album was released in the U.K. in 1967 and was second only to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album on the U.K. charts.
Duane Allman was still playing session work in 1968 and by that time was certainly well acquanted with Hendrix’ work. He and his brother Gregg would not form the Allman Brothers Band for another year. My guess is that Duane’s ego was hardly “crushed” by Jimi’s playing, and one has to wonder how Duane Allman would have to “reinvent” an ego that anyone that worked with him will tell you he did not possess.
Now, there IS some credence to your statement in this vein regarding Clapton, but only so far as it is widely reported that Clapton asked to play with the Experience at a London club. Again, one has to wonder how much ego this guitarist had as he and Tom Dowd snuck into an Allman Brothers concert in Atlanta where Clapton was so taken by Allman’s playing that he invited him to put together an album we now call Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
There is no doubt that Jimi Hendrix influenced many master musicians through the years, but to claim that he was crushing egos along the way is taking a point a little too far.

I nailed John Mayer’s sister in the caboose. I dont apologize for the event, but there was much virtuosity in the act. I should have turned that into a video. Jimi would have been proud.

Lucky for them Derek didn’t start frettin.

Yes, John Mayer did start out with a pop album, but he’s growing into the artist he wants to be. Have you all even heard his latest album…its amazing. And I don’t think it matters that he’s currently dating Jessica Simpson, because all most all of his dedicated fans aren’t happy about it. Besides, shouldn’t we be happy that there are deserving artists on the cover and not Britney or Jessica…

There is always going to be someone better…Just because Frusciante and Mayer can’t play slide like Trucks doesn’t mean they suck, just becasue Mayer is a popular for writing crappy music doesn’t mean he can’t play, and just because frusciante doesn’t always play flashy doesn’t mean he isn’t inventive and creative. You can argue forever who is the new guitar gods but seriously who cares what they are labeled as, all three of these guitarists are great at what they do. End of story

i hav a little poll questions
who has the better vocal ability
john F or john M

John Fursciante for sure has the better vocal range. Johns vocal range and harmonies are unbelievable.

what an insult to eric clapton to call john mayer “slowhand jr.”. John Mayer couldn’t hold claptons sack. Rolling Stones Magazine you’ve gone to far this time.

I agree with myself.

that video was so damn lame….take ur shitty blues music~~~~put it in your pipe, and fukin smoke it….ROCK LIVES!! all you blues lamers!!

Saw RHCP at 2 festivals in europe last summer and frusciante blew my mind. Saw Mayer on the “Today Show” playing one of the most boring songs i’ve ever heard. In fact, i haven’t heard a song of his that i truly dig. Maybe he’s better live, but somebody better pay for my ticket cuz i won’t. Trucks is cool. Want to catch him live. I’m dumbfounded as to why Mike McCready isn’t on this list. Like Frusciante, he’s constanty evolving and innovating. Apparently nobody has heard of Mato Nanji of Indigenous. Native American, plays mostly blues festivals and indian casinos. He is the living reincarnation of Hendrix and Vaughan. See him live and won’t be disappointed.

fkcamry88 has shit for brains and i defintely agree with Magen when she says its insulting to have the 2 most talented of the 3 upside down.

I have finally watched the video, what an amazing video, and yeah there should be more jaming , less talk, wel maybe a lil interview with john would have been better as i am a frusciante/peppers fanatic.When player get to these guys level its not a case of who is the best, they are all amazing, its who creates soundscapes and uses they’re imagination to take things further just like jimi did, and frusciante is def doing that and has been for a while.

I also very much agree with 111 i have never heard vocals like frucintes before wether on his solo albums or with RHCP, blows your mind

I agree with Anthony, Having seen the Chili Peppers twice last year, I still cannot comprehend Frusciante’s talent, both as a guitarist and as a vocalist. Much as it grates me, Mayer is central because he is in the public eye at the mo. If they only made articles to please true guitar/music aficionados, they wouldn’t sell any where near as many mags, they’re a business after all…. Still would have liked to have seen more of Frusciante in his element though, there will never be another, certainly not in our generation!

Mato Nanji (Indigenous) is the most exciting guitarist I’ve seen around. I’d listen to him before any of the others.

My cat is named Mato…

Frusciante is one of my all time favourite guitarists!! But so is John Mayer…if only people would get over their bias about him being a pop artist they would really like his msuic. He is uch more than a pop artist..I agree that his earlier albums were pop but now hes actually doing what he wants to..Continuum(his new album) has a blues influence over it and has anyone heard the John Mayer Trio?? Thats where you get to hear what he realy is!

Mayer is boring…saw his concert on DirecTV…yawn. I have to admit to being a huge Frusciante fan. Have much of his solo stuff and the guy is amazing. Love his vocals as well. Check out his solo albums…Curtains or Shadows Collide With People.

wow. just wow. decent guitar players…but no where near guitar god status. what is this world coming to?

we go from vai, petrucci and the like….to………MEH.

Is this what Eddie, Jimmy, Jimi, Vai, Satriani, Johnson, Santana, Gilmour (and many others) get to be compared to as gods? I don’t think so. Send these three back to the porch and make me some fried chicken.

These guys are all amazing. I have been a fan of John Mayer for a long time, and I want to know even more about Trucks and Frusciante.
I have seen John Mayer live and he is many things, but boring,in my opinion, is NOT one of them.
One of the many greats he has performed with is Clapton and I don’t think he would have a problem with the comparison. Who knows. Obviously he is doing something right, five grammy noms, one for TRY!. That is a great live album, give it a listen. Continuum is amazing also.
I think they deserve the title “NEW guitar gods”.
Wonder who else is on the list. As far as the world, there are more serious things to get riled up about.

A bold headline, but still only relevant to sell magazines. All three of these guys deserve credit for being great players, but with the exception of Fruciante, they should not be considered “guitar gods”. There are way too many great players old and young who are still doing their thing so to isolate 25 is kind of silly. Still I appreciate RS for coming up with a great debate.

I agree Pripyrl, it has sparked a good debate.
I am just glad to see some actual musicians on the cover, regardless of the title.
It has also caused me to look at the other two more and I think they’re great.

One question:

Why, oh why, is John Mayer in the center, instead of John Frusciante? This is terribly disturbing.

I think Jessica Simpson is the best vocalist/guitarist. She’s on a level of Hendrix.

First thing that came to mind when I saw the cover was John Mayer looking like Britney Spears did in her first ever RS cover. Mayer is center and up-right cause he’s more famous, plain and simple. They didn’t even show Frusciante’s skill! Mayer’s a solo hog – until Trucks shows him up with the slide at the end. That was great!

and another thing….RS is purely a mainstream music print medium. Using a term such as “guitar god” so loosely is what they do best. If this article was printed in Vintage Guitar, or Guitar Mag, the editor would be jobless before you could say Jessica Simpson.

Hi TT! Miss you.

and enjoy the music. Man, I’ve never read so many people bitching about 3 great musicians playing.

nadie va a entender mi idioma y probablemente no lo conozca pero un gran guitarrista fue pappo de argentina conocido tambien como norberto napolitano, y actualmente el mejor guitarrista aca en argentina q esta a la altura de estos y podria haber estado en ese video es mr gabriel carambula busquen cosas sobre el en vivo escuchenlo tocar y busquen cosas de pappo no se van a defraudar, bueno espero q alguien entienda esto y haga crecer el rock aca y saber q existen guitarrista de la talla de estos en otros paises

To be truely honest, I like all 3. I’m not a huge Peppers fan, but dig Frusciante’s work. Derek Trucks’ Band, Songlines – solid. John Mayer’s “Try” shows some real skill and chops.

I still dig anything that Tom Morello does on guitar, far and away.

that music is as segregated as the people who listen to it.

All 3 are really wery good, but not god. God is truly Hendrix, Gilmour and, why not, Carlos Santana. You know that they are playing after just one second, they have a signature sound that the others doesent have. That´s it.

i’m just glad for the return of the axe slinger to the music world. sorry rapper fans, nothing sounds as good as fender plugged into a marshall stack.

Guitar Gods…….please. There haven’t been any of those born in decades. Give me anything by Clapton, Beck, Hendrix or Santana anyday.

Jessica Simpson has already surpassed Hendrix/Clapton for god-like status.

All three are good, but I prefer Derek Trucks. He’s more willing to stretch the limits of both his playing and his music. On pedal steel, Robert Randolph is awesome. My pick for best guitarist ever is Rory Gallagher. Listen to his live version of “Walk on Hot Coals”.

Mayer is one of the only artists these days that makes commercially viable music that is actually MUSICAL. Plus the boy is FINALLY starting to get some feel and soul into those nasty chops (thank you Buddy Guy!). I think Tom Morello would have been my choice over Frusciante. I believe Tom’s style is far more original and way more difficult to cop. But of the three, Trucks is the only one with (what I consider to be) a signature sound… and he down-plays it in this video. Derek is nasty, but I still think he needs to play more blues in his own band. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THAT JAM! And who do I have to talk to about putting Mayer, Trucks and Double Trouble on tour together. Those guys are wasting their time with Kenny Wayne!

Hello has anyone here ever heard of Trey Anastasio of Phish. That man can play anything he hears. A true guitar god. A real Guitar God. RS shoould have thought about him…he can play with anybody.

I nominate Joe Bonamassa–he is at least as Derk Trucks and way better than the other 2–check him out on youtube.

Its good to see Frusciate get the recognition. He took a very good but relatively unknown group and made them great. Not just with his amazing guitar work but his song writting and vocals.

hey come on you detractors!
the title is TODAY’s guitar gods…
and the more i listen to these three… the more i am with axe-slinger (above comment)thank god for the return of the guitar!
how sweet, even when i recognize some of the riffs to be directly taken from the likes of clapton, hendrix, santana…. just to hear this real music to my ears again on the radio! no less.

thanks RS for always bringing it on.

Glad to see Derek Trucks get his kudos and some well needed exposure. the spirit of Duane, Elmore, and pure blues lives in his soul and channels thru his fingers and slide to make the sweet sound with a sense of tone that only a real guitar player like Derek can bring out of a piece of wood and some strings. Hail to this “here and now” guitar king who not only learns from the best but inspires the best, his partner Warren Haynes of the Allmans.

all you guys who have been hateing on john mayer have obviously not seen Eric Clapton’s Crossroads dvd… yeah, but d trucks and john frusciante are still way better than he is.

I’m going to end this debate NOW! Guitar GOD = Two Words STEVE VAI!!!!!!!!

Hell, just type in the url for Joe Bonamassa but check him out!

Guitar God is John Mayer! The man can play. Ive seen John live four times this past year and am amazed more and more everytime!I listening to his music everyday!I traveled to his show in Miami which was unbelievable must see him play Gravity it will define guitar god. His show was so great I ended up in Orlando to see him again! Looking forward to seeing him play in Mass and New York!This Maine girl grew up listening to Clapton and is now loving Mayer!

Mayer’s all right, Frusciante and Derek are amazing. I have seen Derek Trucks many times over the past 7-8 years and can attest how much he has improved from good to great. Check out the Derek Trucks band if they come by that is if you are into soul,blues,rock,jazz and funk in no particular order. They are tight and outta sight. PS nobody’s yet to mention Jimmy Herring as a god, beleive me he is.

I’ll admit right off the bat that i have very little idea of what frusciante does, but if he’s in the same league as Mayer & Trucks, he must be good.

One of the things that really bugs me is the fact that people can’t get over the fact that Mayer, in addition to being a great guitarist, writes killer pop songs, and that somehow diminishes his stature. I don’t get it.

Having said that, i have to give the title to Trucks. He took the Duane Allman slide vibe and brought it to a completely different level. More so than Mayer, IMHO, he has an instantly recognizable sound, it could come from no one else. Again, for me this is essentially a tow person contest – i’ll now be checking out Frusciante with greater interest.

One question, though… How about Bill Frisell?

John Fruscinate is the most amazing musician, with giving the chili peppers a different kind of sound to making unbelievible pure, raw, beautiful solo work, blowing the audiences mind on stage, he puts his passion and soul to his guitar strings and amazing music comes out, John Frusciante derserves it all.

John Frusciante much love, beautiful work with the peppers and more beautiful music with his solo work, whoever has never listen to his stuff you have to, its just amazing, John mayer is good but no way near JF. You can cry and and go through hard times more easily with John Frusciantes music in your life.

I saw DTrucks w/Clapton on this tour and will see him at the Beacon w/ the ABB soon. Great player; for my money some of the best I’ve ever seen are Zappa (with Vai in his band in 1981 by the way), Jeff Beck (a double bill with Santana once– Beck had Bozzio on drums), Prince– as “out there” as he is, he is immensely talented, and one of the most underrated of all time has to be Todd Rundgren. Any of Todd’s shows datinf back to the mid 70’s were a treat for the ears.

Derek is by far the best out of these three. Combine Derek with Jimmy Herring and you’ve got the best music you’ve seen in years. Southern rock is where the guitar lives in today’s era. Jimmy = return of Panic

SRV! I can’t believe that no one is mentioning Stevie Ray Vaughan! I saw one post that mentioned “Double Trouble” but not SRV by name. I’m very big on Clapton, Vai, Hendrix, Rhandy Rhoades (though short lived), and there are many, many more. Lots that you don’t think of all the time because they are not “in the limelight now”, like Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and others. If just nailing the guitar I think I gotta go with Stevie Ray Vaughan. He could hit them strings, bend them from bottom to top, just awesome to watch him play. I’ve been a music fan all my life (47 years old now), but when I first saw SRV playing…WOW…the first time in my life I said that I want to learn to play the guitar! Can’t remember Clapton’s quote when he said he first heard SRV, but it was of the highest compliment, that’s something!

It’s funny how a lot of you are basing who’s better based on this little jam that RS put together. These guitarists have SO Much more to offer on their records. If you want to listen to the REAL John Mayer get TRY! He rips on that “Wait till Tommorrow” Hendrix cover; and get Any Given Thursday and listen to “Covered in Rain”.

I’m going to end this debate NOW! Guitar God = Two words: Carlos Guitarlos!!!

Ok, so here’s the deal. All of these guitarists are amazingly talented musicians. They are, however, all different. To say one is better than the other is purely your bias of genres, or favourite musicians.

Frusciante is very innovative, and has been around for while. Give him kudos, they guy is amazing.

Trucks I don’t know much about, but, seems pretty awesome, and commands the respects of Mayer and Frusciante.

And Mayer. I own all of Mayers catologue. Independant release, Room for Squares, Any Given Thursday, Heavier Things, Try!, and Continuum. Some (most) of you are basing your opinions on what you hear on the radio, or see on TV. Anyone who knows music, knows that the best stuff musically is always on the records, and not realeased. Check out anything from Try! by Mayer. Look on YouTube. He has the chops. Rock, blues, jazz. He has it.

To say one is better than the other is short-sighted. Just recognize the talent, and don’t bash other musicians. RS knows music, and each of these guys deseve their spot on the cover.

Those 3 are amazing. This sums up the greatest guitarists of all time…

Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Robert Fripp, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, D Tony Iommi, Joe Walsh, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duane Allman, Robert Johnson, Chet Adkins, Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy, Ritchie Blackmore, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Tom Morello, Martin Barre, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, B.B. King, Johnny Greenwood, Yngwie Malmsteen, Neil Young, Elliot Randall, Billy Gibbons, Mike McCready, Robby Krieger, Dickey Betts, Keith Richards, Dave Davies, Prince, Steve Howe, George Harrison, Eddie Hazel, Joe Perry, Trey Anastasio, Jerry Cantrell, Jerry Garcia, Angus Young, Brad Nowell, Mick Ronson, Vernon Reid, John Fogerty, Brian Setzer, Alex Lifeson, John Petrucci

That’s as many as I can think of and now my brain hurts. But you can’t rate musicians because everyone’s opinion is different. So much goes into it, Song Writing, Spirituality, Technical work, Influence.

Not only is John Frusciante the best one of the 3 he should have been the middle and had the cover. He rocks with RHCP and on is solo music. I like the other 2 but they compare to JF.

I have seen all three in concert.
All good, no doubt.

In my opinion, Frusciante and Mayer cannot come close to Derek Trucks. There is no contest. His playing is absolutely mind blowing.

Go see The Derek Trucks Band in concert and come to the realization that there’s no better guitar player alive. HE WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

I have to admit seeing John Frusciante on the cover of your magazine was very exciting for me. I love the Chili Peppers, and John puts all his love into his playing. However, I was EXremeley disappointed to see somebody like John Mayer alongside John Frusciante. Frusciante has been playing amazing guitar with the Chili Peppers since the early 90s and now he’s recognized as a Guitar God. I am very happy to see him but saddened he’s being associated with John Mayer, who is not bad at guitar but Frusciante, far more talent.

There are all hot. This is so Jr. high skool, who is best. Music ain’t a stick and ball sport.

Who is gettin’ the hottest nooky is the real test of who rocks the hardest…

All Three are good, great, guitar players on cd, I have not had the pleasure of seeing them live yet? I’m sure they kick ass, but please do not compare any of them to the likes of “REAL GUITAR GODS” like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, or Jimi, sorry guys you still have a lot to learn.

Have you all considered that John Frusciante may not have wanted to be in the middle. He has always been the type of guy not to really brag and show off. John Mayer on the other hand is very very very egotistical.

yeah, i agree with ‘gel’. seeing fru alongside someone like john mayer makes me really sad. sometimes i wonder if anyone in this world knows just how talented and passionate jf is… fuck.

Whoever said Steve Vai ought to be shot.

No soul whatsoever. Textbook as textbook gets.

Of the 3 John Frusciante is the best and he probably is happy with not being in the middle. But these guys are only 3 of the greats. There are too many to list. I think Stevie Ray Vaughn was the BEST ever. Lost him way to soon.

quite frankly, i’m a little irritated that John Frusciante has been placed in the same eschalon as Mayer and Trucks. They’re in an entirely different stratosphere from him in respect to their skill.

Frusciante is a good part writer, but that’s as far as it goes. Mayer and Trucks have got soul exuding from their pores. Frusciante was noticably less comfortable improvising than they were. Being a musician myself, it was obvious. Still, it’s just an opinion… but as Simon Cowell says, “it’s a pretty good one.”

Heh, that Jake Collier guy is one VERY funny dude!

What a wonderful sight to read that someone out there[jm49]remembers a guy named rory gallagher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!He definitely belongs with the true pac of great guitar players and dont forget johnny winter and alvin lee1111111111111111

Are you kidding me —- John Mayer — NEW GUITAR GOD? JM is an overall decent musician, I feel, but by no means someone to carry the mantle for the next several decades from the perspective of his guitarmanship.

This tells me we have sunk to a new low in terms of rock and R&B when RS makes up covers and stories like this and places some ridiculous mantle on the likes of John Mayer of all people – and I have listened to all the JM albums when I say this. Perhaps the “god” descriptor bothers me more than anything, but JM’s music overall is uninspiring.

Thank you Tacobellgrindage,

Jessica Simpson has nothing to do with John Mayer’ fame. He’s a fucking legend. He’s brought a new style to the world of music. Fuck the red hot chilli peppers. They suck!

i read the feature articals on all 3 of them today when i got my new issue and it was AMAZING. as a guitarist here is my input..bc i was ignorant i always thought mayer was some pop clown but after reading his interview ive change my opinion, hes definitely cool..whatever baffoons said frusciante isnt a god are obviosly dumb. i always looked up to him. i like how the article also mentions tools, rage against, and mars voltas guitars

as far as the greats of all time..compare it to boxing. their are greats for different time periods (u cant compare joe lewis to ali or rocky marciano to tyson). bb king,stevie ray,hendrix,clapton,jimmy page,billy gibbons,randy rhoads, allan holdsworth,eddie van halen,robben ford,joe pass,joe satriani,eric johnson..theres so many ppl, so little time and did ne one actually mention yngwie malmsteen or steve vai

Mato Nanji of Indigenous. Sick, filthy, beautiful, genius. See him and his band live and you’ll likely have an orgasm. The true living reincarnation of Hendrix and Vaughan. JF and DT are righteous mofos as well. No comment on Mayer.

actually after posting this crap i feel really stupid.. u gotta also think about different styles..from soloing to slide to fingerpicking..some really great guitarist arent even FAMOUS..it makes me remember being in Spain and watching guys fingerpick sooo fasttt it would blow ur mind

John Mayer says in the article at hand “You’re only as good as your hero’s”..WELL PUT my fellow stoner

He is funny. I know him.

BTW, if you don’t think John Mayer is a good guitarist, maybe you should ask “Double Trouble”, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s old band. They personally invited John Mayer to play in place of Stevie at a few of their reunion gigs.

But I guess he’s not that great. *tongue firmly planted in cheek* LOL

dude yngwie malmsteen, satriani and vai are far from being guitar heros. The real guitar hereos are the ones that dont need to play lightnening fast to catch peoples attention because they can do it with the emotion in their playing.
p.s. someone mentioned slide guiatrists being overlooked, derek trucks is a slide guiatrists

For the non- believers
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Live At Slane Castle DVD
Derek Trucks Band-Live at Georgia Theatre CD
John Mayer- haven’t heard his guitar playing yet but I’ll TRY it soon.

omg this cant top panic’s! covver at alllll omg its pathetic!!!! i dont even noo whoo john mayor is als i no is that many milonakis is funny and likes dave mathews banddd!!!! umm pack to the greatest band living Panic! at the discooooo they’re the bestttttttt okkk altla bye byee

in mayer’s defense…(from wikipedia)
-collab with clapton (all the time), john scofield, sly, bb king, herbie hancock, jjcale, and buddy guy ( mayer’s drummer also plays with and produced an album for guy) and a bunch of others
-both martin and fender, two guitar companies who really dont need any PR whatsoever given their reputations, created custom built models for him

if everyone acknowledges that, as that graffiti explained, “clapton is god”, along with the other big names on the list giving john recognition…can’t you give him at least the benefit of the doubt? two of the greatest bands of all time (the beach boys and the beatles) began with writing silly, cheesy pop songs.
-re: egotistical claim – if you a
actually pay attention towards, he gives trucks a lot of credit for his sound

just because your girlfriend wants him more than you and your girlfriend’s mom feels the same way, don’t hate him for being pretty
you really wouldnt have ANY interest in jessica simpson? honestly? at least for a little while?

All three of these guys have skills that we can only dream of having. My personal favourite of the three is John Frusciante simply because he is in my opinion the greatest musicsion we have seen in the last couple decades. Not that the other two aren’t great, its just that when i listen to John F play it seems out of this world. I love both his work with the chili peppers and his solo work.

It seems to me that a lot of people under-estimate John Mayer as a guitarist just because his first two albums were pop albums and didn’t show off much sweet guitar playing. But ever since his multiple collaborations after his second album(with many of the people listed below) and his live album TRY!, it has become very clear that he is great soulful player that can improvise(well) at the drop of a hat, and do a countless number of other things fantastically with his guitar.

I think Frusciante is a kick ass player who has his own style(by the way he was amazing on this last peppers tour) But i would rather listen to Mayer play all day.

Too many different tastes…too many guitarists to narrow into a list.

But how, oh how, can Joe Bonamassa be left off any list?

Ha! Mayer finally made the cover.
Yusss.

Sorry – just couldn’t let these go:

“Derek Trucks is no Duane Allman, and I’ll never understand how nor why he replaced Dickey Betts but he is an amazing slide guitarist, and besides, who else is playing slide now?”

—uhhh, he DIDN’T replace Dickey. He took over for Jack Pearson, who had taken over for Warren. He played in the ABB w/ Dickey until they kicked him out. Thanks for paying attention.

“Of the 3 guitarists on the cover, John Mayer is the only one who has his own signature electric Fender Stratocaster & signture Martin acoustic.:

– which has nothing to do with anything. Derek had his own Washburn model when he was endorsed by them. You’re assuming that either of the other two weren’t offered their own models and then turned them down. Having your own guitar model means absolutely nothing.

They’re all great players, I personally have never seen Mayer, but what I’ve seen from live dvd’s and live records I was very impressed. I saw Frusciante a few years ago and he is pretty good,a very innovative and open player. However, Derek Trucks is the best guitarist I’ve ever seen. I saw him with Claptons band and he owned the stage. I’ve seen some great players, Clapton, Metheny, Scofield, but I’ve never heard or seen anyone play like Derek Trucks

Why no Kenny Wayne Shepherd? He’s better than Frusciante and just as good as Mayer if you ask me

My nomination–Joe Bonamassa–the guy is abslutely awesome. I do love Derek Truck’s slide playing though.

It’s weird seeing mayor up there beacause he is not as much of a viosionary as john and derek. John has came up with great songs such as under the bridge and snow i sometimes even compare him to jimi, although john is most inspired of jimi.

All three are great guitar players in there own way. Frusciante is very experimental and creative in his own right which is admirable. However is he a God? I think not.

Now John Mayer is another excellent young guitarist. What he is doing right now is exposing the young generation (teens) to the blues (same thing Kenny Wayne did years ago but people will pay attention to Mayer because he has a younger fan base and has built up a following). I personally think he sounds very much like SRV when he plays. He is a great guitarist, however I think he is doing too many SRV licks when he plays, a little unoriginal. But he is good and he is doing Blues Music justice in a music industry full of hip hop and computer generated beats.

Now Derek Trucks….the best guitar player on the music scene today. He is doing something with the guitar the no one has done. He does sound like D. Allman but at the same time he has his own voice. He sounds like an old singer from the 50’s rippin it. Anyways, go get a DTB cd and see him live (he might play your slide if you ask him to at a show…he played mine in Ithaca). Derek is the absolute best, he just makes that guitar sing. And he doesn’t use other peoples licks all the time nor does he use tones of effects to play.

Others who are amazing on the scene today: Warren Haynes (underappreciated), Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Butler, Johnny A, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph and even check out what Keller Williams does.

Derek Trucks is incredible. I also enjoy Mayer’s style. Frusciante is clearly not as good as Trucks and Mayer. Frusciante is a mediocre player. I cannot understand how people compare him to Hendrix. He really is NOT a good player. His music is very simple and he is quite sloppy.

Trucks is a god. Mayer is good. Frusciante is complete garbage; doesn’t deserve to be in the presense of Trucks. End of discussion.

This is exactly why the public shouldn’t be critiquing music. The same reason Nickleback can stay on the top 40. People just eat what they’re fed, and they’ll believe you’re good in a second if you’re in a successful band (like the chili peppers).

This is definitely not always true. True of Mayer, however.

most people who left comments on this article are downright crazy if the say derek trucks is anywhere near as good as either frusciante or mayer. i’ve seen them all live and would probabally take frusciante with as an extremely close second, trucks isn’t even in the same league.

ok, to the people that are calling frusciante trash… have you EVER listened to a Chili Peppers album in it’s entirety? Frusciante is so FREAKING amazing that it’s not even funny.

while i am a fan of both mayer and frusciante(as you can tell), i really cannot say who is better. mayer is outstanding, but i personally like frusciante better. it’d be like comparing apples to oranges.

and i am sad to say that i have never heard of derek trucks. after seeing that video, i am DEFINITELY going to check this guy out. great slide playing.

I’ve been playing guitar for years and years, and John Frusciante is head and shoulders above the other two. Anybody can play/slide recycled blues scales: it doesn’t take any imagination. John F takes the guitar to another level, just like Hendrix did. Listen to all the guitar parts in stadium arcadium: he is channeling hendrix’s creativity in ways that John M and Derek never will. Also check out Fru’s acoustic work (shados collide with people, and the will to death). Frusciante just lives on another level above anyone else right now.

Anyone who says Frusciante is sloppy in his technique doesn’t know jack about guitar. Check out the music video to Under the bridge, or the recording session to Blood Sugar Sex Magik while he plays Soul To Squeeze. Go to youtube and type in “Funky Monks (part 3): His technique is incredible, and he’s only 21 when he made that record.

frusciante is an excellent player. mayer is a gay college kid who dosent have an original bone in his body. he sat in his dorm listening to stevie ray records and duplicating his boring style which has been done over and over and over again. when will u sheep ever get tired of hereing the same shit???? yach!!!!!!

this video is hilarious, frusciante is so bored through the whole thing. see how sterile mayer and trucks are. they have no imagination, they sit there lifeless playing their text book blues riffs. they have no clue where frusciantes head is at. they dont derserve to be in the presence of him.

FOR ALL WHO READ:

First of all, I would argue all day that Frusciante actually looked quite UNcomfortable during this video. He played a painfully basic rhythm part for almost the entire session. His solo then came out sounding like his fingers were lead weights, while Mayer and Trucks flowed over the fretboard like seagulls at the beach. Sensitivity to their instrument.

If you could ever think that Mayer and Trucks’ riffs are recycled, you should really listen to more music. I can always tell a Mayer or Trucks riff by their signature.

First of all, I’ve heard everything Frusciante has played several times before he ever played it. Everyone is recycling something, JOE. Everyone learns to play guitar by listening to other players (Joe’s was the Sex Pistols).

It really comes down to who’s putting their own spin on the instrument, while also sharpening their skills as much as they can. I’m disappointed with Frusciante… I think he could be a much better player than he is right now. However, you must know that I’m not saying he’s not a great player. He is, definitely… but he doesn’t deserve a spot with the big boys yet.

BRAD FREAKIN’ PAISLEY SHOULD’VE BEEN ON THIS COVER. IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD HIM PLAY, DO YOURSELF THE FAVOR.

For the record, I hope no one is actually judging these three guitarists on this video because it was obviously just a blues jam for the sake of a silly cover shoot. If you want to “judge” go check out their albums.

For those that don’t know Derek doesn’t just play recycled blues licks (although he can authentically pay homage to the blues greats as well as anyone). Derek pushes the envelope with his own band and has a really progressive edge. Check out his DVD and you’ll understand.

Derek Trucks is probably the most gifted guitarist to come along in the last 25 years.
Guitar legends like Hendrix, Allman, Clapton, Paige , VanHalen and SRV influenced hundreds of thousands of young guitarists. Trucks is a breath of fresh air in a cesspool of music the public has had held at their noses the last few decades from big record deal here today gone tomorrow corporate records.

Man John is SO awesome. He should be bowed to and given offerings. Did anyone catch the grammy’s last night w/ John’s incredible solo on Snow Hey Oh? Man he took over the whole song with that and it was quiet and I went HOLY SHIT! right out loud with out even realizing untill after. MAN! I love RHCP and anyone who partakes in it to create such beautiful music!

not sure if my post went thru. John Frusciante is the best rock band guitarist in the best rock band in the world. And Im sure those other guys are pretty good at whatever they do too.

Has no one here heard of BUCKETHEAD.Now he is truly a guitar god.They didn’t even mention him, he’s better than most of the trash that RS decided to put in the mag.This man is a true Genius and doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

All three are so great. I love Frusciante’s carefull study of the instrument, Mayer’s dreamy attention to his compositions and Trucks’ ability to make those solos sound so espirited. Great job RollingStone in bringing them together, I just hope they would somehow record something together… Dream on

See a lot of stuff saying Derek only plays recycled blues licks. Listen to Derek Trucks Band stuff, not the ABB stuff. Maki Madni is a song that will show you he doesn’t only play blues stuff. He is probably one of better jazz guitarist out there today too ie. Afro Blue,So What, D minor blues, Chameleon just to list a few, songs not meant for guitar but he rips them. Derek not only belongs on this list but should on the top because of versitility alone. I try to play slide guitar and can not come close to how derek sounds but any garage band can sound like the RHCP. IMHO.

Hi TT, miss you!

I don’t know how you can say Frusciante’s is so much further along and more creative. And to say Derek is just sitting there lifeless playing blues riffs. Obviously you’ve never seen the Derek Trucks Band. I’ll tell you what, some of you people are just goofy as hell.

‘Lutch’ is defentilty right. John Mayer, a Guitar GOD is just ear rattling. Coorprate Magazines still suck, they don’t get it…

Did anybody else catch this on the front of the cover? “John Mayer Slowhand Jr”…that’s some funny shit. Who’s been touring with Clapton this past year? Oh yeah, Derek Trucks.

While Frusciante is definitly a talented player, overall there is no doubt in my mind that Warren Haynes would put his playing to shame. Not only are the recordings great, namely the newly released “High and Mighty”, but his live shows with Gov’t Mule are over the top, melting hard rock and blues together into a jam band mold.

And on a side note, seeing the Allman Brothers Band with Haynes and Trucks dueling guitars, its probably one of the best shows ever. Definitly would recommend seeing those two together with Gregg Allman.

While I agree that John Mayer and Derek Trucks are great guitar players, the list is missing one who is as good or better than them. Henry Garza from Los Lonely Boys. If you haven’t seen him in concert you are missing something.

Frusciante? simply amazing…end of the story!

Fruciante is definetley not that good at guitar. I have personally known a few people that could put him to shame. Mayer writes gay songs. Derek Trucks is truly a great player and a super nice guy who deserves all the recognition he gets

Herman Lee of Dragonforce is also better than most on your list. Looks like you were going for the 14-18 year olds.

Look, they are all AMAZING guitarists. Your taste of music is different from others. They all have different styles. Just because you don’t like one’s style, doesn’t mean they are “mediocere” or “terrible”. Just appreciate the music they gave us. If you have a problem with one person, fine, they aren’t going to change their own style to impress you in the way you want it. Just because your favorite guitarist isn’t up there or you don’t like one of them for some stupid reason, REMEMBER its guitar gods, not a popularity contest.

IMO, they are all amazing. John Frusciante is my taste because I enjoy the chili peppers. I have not heard of Trucks but I will look into him. He seems very talented at slide guitar. John Mayer’s blues style is very appealing.

That is what a review is supposed to look like. Please, don’t hate them because of their style.

I have been to many great shows from many artists from BB King, Los lonely boys, Eric Clapton, etc…

When I saw the John Mayer trio live in Boston. It was the greatest concert of my life. Lets just face it that Mayer is a great guitarists. A lot of people should do some research before making just blatent remarks. Yeah there are many great guitarists, but I think Mayer deserves this. Eric Clapton himself ranked Mayer in the top 5 guitarists of today in the world. Mayer has a different sound on every album. He even admits that Your Body is a wonderland has been tagged on him and hates it. Comparing the three artists is very hard to do. They are very good technical and skillful players. Give Mayer a chance and listen to some of his stuff. Trio if you want to see some more of his guitar ability.

daniel sproul

Fuck whoever said that the talented people that play with Mayer are doing this for publicity. People in the same category as Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and BB King don’t need to do things like that for publicity at their age. Blues guitarists play because they love music, not because they feel like they have to conform to what society wants to hear. That being said I will go ahead and say that’s exactly what Mayer did early in his career. Most people these days don’t appreciate the blues, so he made his first two albums solely because he knew that’s what would sell. Once he got his foot in the door, he could do what he wanted to do his entire life, play the fucking blues. I saw Mayer with Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino at the Avalon in Boston a couple years ago, and he was accompanied by Steven Tyler for the last few songs. Playing with a legend such as him, and the others named numerous times here surely qualifies him to be on track to become a guitar god. So I would like to give a shout out to all the Mayer haters out there, and give them and invitation to have my fist shoved directly up their conceded asses. Thank you.

Someone above said, “relies on other bandmates to pick up the slack” about Jack White..hahahahaha! He is the only guy in his band except for his drummer Meg! He rules. By far the best today. The Frusciante is ok but HARDLY a guitar god. Come on!

let’s be honest-JM and JF are good but DT is in a totally different class.He is pushing the envelope and experimenting in the Miles Davis and John Coltrane tradition. He has developed a sound and style that is uniquely his own and in the future will go to more musical places because his virtuosity allows him to as opposed to the others.

This is not player hateing- just the truth comming from a Red Hot Chili Pepper- fan but most of all music fan. Let’s not let our favorite type of music cloud our evaluation of the players.

This is a no brainer!!!

let’s be honest-JM and JF are good but DT is on a totally different planet. He is pushing the envelope and experimenting in the Miles Davis and John Coltrane tradition. He has developed a sound and style that is uniquely his own and in the future will go to more musical places because his virtuosity allows him to as opposed to the others.

This is not player hateing- just the truth comming from a Red Hot Chili Pepper- fan but most of all music fan. Let’s not let our favorite type of music cloud our evaluation of the players.

This is a no brainer!!!

the funny thing is, some of you people really disgust me and even horrify me with your comments. This article was about the pure talent of these three artists, and you exceed to bash them.

Who cares if John Mayer is dating Jessica Simpson! ITS HIS LIFE let him do what he wants, and that has nothing to do with his musical talent. John Mayer has proven in the last few years that he is still growing, and learning about himself as an artist. You have to start somewhere, to get where you want to be. No one starts off amazing, so his first two albums may not have been up to his potential, but he has realzied his faults and immaturity, and grown from it, and thats what makes him one of the greats. You are wrong and frankly not smart if you think his songs are just “poppy” or even most offending “gay or girly”, listen to the song Belief, and Stop This Train and his whole Trio album, the melodies and lyrics he writes are beautiful, and his guritar solos are like songs theselves, they have harmonies and melodies that make their own lyrics. His passion makes you want to play guitar yourself, and inspires me to go out and try for my dreams. Go on and have your own opinion, but don’t base it off of what your taste in music is, base it off of shear knowledge and love for guitar.

Out of all of the three I agree he is the most notified in the article, but Rolling Stone did a good job of showing off each of the three talents. Trucks and Frusciante are equally amazing also, and they all deserve to be named the best guitarists of our generation.

While all three men are talented my personal pick is John Frusciante. I was fortunate enough to watch him perform live twice this year. I watched him do a complete flip while playing the intro to Can’t Stop and he never missed the first note he is absolutely awesome. Anyone not familiar with his solo work please check it out. He is so much more than just a guitar player. To all three much love.

Why do so many people prefer to view artistic expression as a contest? Do you think that people sat around the cafes of Paris smoking hash and debating whether or not Picasso was “better” than Monet or Renoir? Read John Mayer’s description of playing with BB King again and you will understand that their mutual devotion to the blues transcended any competitive element in their playing together; when blues musicians trade solos on stage, it’s not a contest; it’s mutual expression….there is no scorecard at the end of the song.

I applaud all of these musicians for continuing the legacy of the electric guitar; in this age of digital overkill and underfunded music programs in our schools, it’s reassuring to see that true musical expression on the six string will live on through the ages. I also love the fact that Derek Trucks uses no effects and strives to express a pure, overdriven blues tone that comes from the soul, not from a tricked out effects board! Right on Derek!

i saw derek play at the clapton concert a week ago and i was blown away from his skill, and the way he gets into the music. he reminded my a lot of clapton in the way he stayed still and just let himself slide into his guitar. brilliant. i am a mayer fan but you cant really compare guitarists, while they may all start somewhere, in time if theyre good theyll find there own home and THEN you know that they were one of the greats

Why do so many people insist on looking at artistic expression as some sort of contest? Do you really think that people used to sit around the cafes of Paris smoking hash and debating whether or not Picasso was “better” than Monet or Renoir? I applaud all the guitarists who strive to continue the tradition of playing music with originality. Go back and read John Mayer’s comments again about playing with BB King; neither of these guys have a competitive outlook when they are on the stage together; they are simply paying homage to the blues and complementing each other’s brushstrokes on an aural canvass.
I also love the fact that Derek Trucks does not use effects; He strives for a pure overdriven blues tone that emenates from the soul and does not rely on a bunch of tricked out effects. Right on Derek!

Why do so many people insist on evaluating artistic expression as some sort of contest? Do you really think people used to sit around the cafes of Paris smoking hash and debating whether or not Picasso was somehow “better” than Monet or Renoir? Go back and re-read John Mayer’s comments about playing live with B.B. King: neither had a competitive thought in his head when they traded licks; they were just two artists paying homage to the blues and complementing each other’s expression. At the end of the song there is no scoreboard that records winners or losers. I also love the fact that Derek Trucks does not rely on fancy effects; he strives to create a pure, overdriven blues tone that emenates from the soul rather than a tricked out digital board of effects. Right on Derek!

This is pure shit!When gods like Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Neal Schon and Gary Moore are still there, it is utterly ridiculous to anoint some kiddish rhythm guitarits as gods! Check out the 70s, 80s and 90s dudes.

By the way…Aubrey Ghent is frickin’ AMAZING! If you don’t believe me, just go to Pandora.com and type in his name. A little taste of “Just A Closer Walk With Thee” and you’ll understand. Amen, Derek!

I’m skeptical about you. In regards to your comment about Frusciante being uncomfortable: it’s probably because he WAS or didn’t give a fuck. FYI: he doesn’t usually play blues standards you dumbshit. Do you know his music? And regarding your quote “i can easily distinguish mayer and trucks’ sound”…can you? Trucks? OK, fine. While Mayer is good, he’s clearly and constantly playing SRV licks. Have you ever heard of SRV or are you just 13 years old? You don’t know what you’re talking about.

John Mayer couldn’t be Dereck Trucks roadie. Trucks is the best new string bender of a generation. And what about his lady Susan Tedeshi? she rocks.

Have we also forgotten Kenny Wayne Shepherd?

Why is no one mentioning Keith Urban?

JM + JF are sausage wrapping, while DT is the Prime Rib.

Anybody who thinks John Mayer is the shit needs to go grab the DVD of SRV Live at the el Mocambo. Fuck it, you don’t even need to listen to the whole DVD, just listin to track 12 – Lenny. Then after you go wipe your self off, get back to us.

JF is a sick player. He’s nuts, I love him. But this 3-some goes like this >

1 – Derek Trucks (This one’s a no-brainer – His playing’s from a different universe)

2 – John Frusciante (Hands down over JM)

3 – John Mayer JM’s good, but I’ve seen great young cats all over this great land that could blow him out the back door. Hell there’s a young stud from Ct named Johnny I that is 50 times better than Mayer, and he’s playin’ bars. Sadly, timing, and who owe’s who a favor are keys to making it in the music business today. The best talent doesn’t always take home the pie. Of course if JM wants to come over and play at my birthday party later this month, he’s more than welcome. peas

People should stop bagging on Mayer. The fact that he appeals to the masses and gets mountains of pussy does not make him a lesser guitarist. Dude rocks. Part of being a “Guitar God” is being known by more than just a few thousand guitar nerds.

And as an aside-Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, Petrucci and the rest of the shredders don’t get cred because nobody wants to listen to that horseshit. 256th notes do not make for enjoyable listening. Guitars modulated to sound like synthesizers…well, they sound like synthesizers. That’s why the only time you hear their music on the radio, someone’s usually reading traffic over the top of it. It’s fucking noise.

Just wanna know how many of you have actually seen John Mayer in concert? The man is amazing! I’ve never even heard of the other two people.

First of all Derek shoulb be in the middle beacause he is the best talent out there today.

I have have seen him with his band, DTB, Allman Brothers, and Eric Clapton. If you can gig with two of the greatest rockbands to have played you must have something. Clapton has even said that Derek is the best out there, and that is why he wanted him on his tour.

I believe that Mayer has a lot of talent. I saw him perform with Buddy Guy on PBS and it was great.

John Fru, is more of a show guitarists and stadium/crowd pleaser.

Plus i am also happy to see derek get some recognition by the music world. He is a great guy with willing appreciation for various genres of music. His music is the real thing!

look, all three guitarist are very good, but i have to agree to the fact that mayer and trucks probably have an edge on chops though i must admit that this video doesn’t give frusiate(spelling) a chance to shine and he is a brilliant musician but i really doubt if as many guitarist out there are trying to replicate the john frusiante sound nearly as much as they are mayer and most definately trucks. to that end only time will tell the lasting effect these what? 20 or so guitarist in the column will have…

If look what Frusciante did in his life compared to Mayer, and Trucks they cant talk, yet. I still think Jack White is better than most. He went blues to rock to country to rock and not counting resurfacing Lynn’s ” Velverde Rose” for another grammy win! Listen to Mars Volta to for Omar, Wow!

this is my first and last comment- all 3 of these guys rock but DT is by far the most talented of the group,the other 2 put together are not as good as DT on a bad day

“John Fru, is more of a show guitarists and stadium/crowd pleaser.”

This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. Listen to this guys solo work. It is not made to please anyone…it is from the heart. Frusciante is the best of the 3 and probably the best of the last 10 years.

With respect to Frusciante, you gotta realize that he’s in a rock/funk band, and funk isn’t exactly the most popular genre anymore. Mayer has these lovey dovey songs that made him famous and made people recognize him, but Frusciante does a completely different style than most other guitarists as well as having to fight for popularity with Flea and Keidis. Thats why he isnt recognized as much.

First off, that “jam” session was ridiculous. Frusciante look bored to tears. Blues aint his gig.

Yay! John mayer can play the blues!…… so what?? He still doesn’t have an album that takes away his “pop prince” title. And until then, he can keep playing to 15 yr old pre-pubescent girls.

Derek Trucks, I honestly haven’t heard of. But if what everyone is saying on here is true, I will def look in.

Frusciante to me is the best of the 3 BECAUSE, He is the better musician of the 3. His music (Rhcp and Solo)have inspired my life in so many ways. Here is a human being who has poured his whole energy into making music. He released 6 albums in 6 months! you think he cares if any of them go platinum? He doesn’t need the spotlight like JM does. His music is love.
Plus he is(WAS) the biggest druggie of the three. And we all know Drugs = Good Music.

Listen Frusicante has been playing guitar for PLENTY and a lot of years. I can’t say about the other guy cause im not familar with him. But John Mayer has been playing for what? Defentily not as long as Frusicante, AND hardly not long enough to be considered a guitar GOD. that part really bothers me. Ripping out a couple of blues influenced solos isn’t hard to learn .fruscainte has much more experience, talent and ability, he should be the one on the cover. ed van halen, hendrix some many more too….

As the old saying goes,”Opinions are like armpits and most of em’ stink!” Dam! Why does it have to turn into a kiddy response? Aren’t all 3, bad-ass!
Exactly what this rap ridden, stale frickin’ music world needs? I enjoyed the video segment and should have left this site without reading the comments-
Are you guys that are bashing Mayer and Trucks guitar players? Are just plain jealous? Now for my stinkin’ opinion. It is definitely a breath of fresh air to hear either one of these guys do what they do…..
Especially compared to all the bullshit that is called music today. Prime example, watch American Idol. If this is what America wants, I’ll stay old
fashion, and keep listening with my EARS and not my frickin EYES!

Derek Trucks is insanely good. I mean, I saw him live 3 times w/ the derek trucks band, and his music, the sounds his guitar makes, its out of this world. It gave me chills, made me dance my booty off, and totally blew my mind. Everytime. I wasn’t even into the blues or jazz until I saw him live at a free concert a few years ago, and I’ve been a fanatic ever since. We don’t get a lot of big shows in TN, but everytime he’s near, I’m there.

How is Keith Urban not even in the debate? The guy plays the greatest solos out there.

Maybe the public should put a halt on judging the artist and listen to the music. The music is what makes the artist. Not his fans, love life, choice of house or anything to that nature. Congratulate these three men for their accomplishments in music and growth.

Before this article, John Mayer was the only guitarist I have been exposed to. After reading the article, I quickly researched each of the other two and felt the same emotion towards their works as I already do for Mayer’s.

If any of you are guitar fans, you will appreciate these men. Rolling Stone did an excellent job.

Bravo.

One addition:

A musician doesn’t have to ‘rock out’ to be a Guitar God. It’s the emotion and skill that is composed.

Keith Urban? WHO?

I think Rolling Stone accidentally printed the cover upside down. That’s how it SHOULD look. JM is great, JF is also great, but Derek wipes the floor with both of them. I’m sure JM and JF wouldn’t disagree.

I agree with if6was9free’s statement that anybody who thinks that JM is the shit needs to see SRV Live at the El Mocambo. Then you’ll you’ll understand what a rock god is. I’d give my left nut to go back in time and see that show live. JM’s original songs bore me and then there are the one’s that excite me, yet make me cringe because he’s so clearly copping SRV’s licks. SRV, you deserve a better representative. RIP. You were the man.

never really had the chance to see any of them live. thank god for technology.
all three are real good, but there’s one who really stand out. i wanna give my hats off to john frusciante. Blood sugar at 18, californication after 7 years of shit, stadium arcadium.. with all that he has accomplished, who knows what great things he can do like 10-20 years from now.

every solo for him seems like a prayer, or sumtn. he’s a perfect example of a musician who grows, learns, and blows everyone away in the process.

rock on, JF!

hats off to athony, flea, and chad too. big fan.

1. derek, 2. the pop star, 3. the guy on the left.

people, give a brak!! John Frusciante is the best!!!!!!

Frusciante is the best!!!!!!!

I can’t stand this shortlist of guitar “gods” especially with John Mayer front and center. WTF? There are so many people out there that are great that you will never here of because they just play bars or the streets of spain. No one will ever top hendrix. and just as a side note: i’m in thailand and missed the super bowl, but i just saw Prince’s halftime performance on youtube. Best halftime show ever. If that ain’t playing guitar like a sick mofo then i don’t know what is.

Derek owns both there asses no doubt

Check out the cd Pride & Glory from Zakk Wylde with James Lomenzo and Brian Tichy, also live recording on youtube.com from Donningthon ‘94. Zakk at his prime and a guitargod for sure. Better work than his latest BLS-crap.

I believe that RS is trying to show three different styles/genres of guitar. You have DT with his slide that is so unique, JM with his blues style and JF with his melodic razors edge playing. One thing that I noticed in the video of the three was that JF was pretty satisified with playing the rhythm for the other two. He is truly a humble man and always watching and learning new ways of expressing himself through music. They all are trying to find that perfect sound that continues to elude them. They will all leave an imprint in the history of music. DT gets his sound through his double humbuckers, slide and amp. JM gets his sound through the bending and plucking of the strings through his single coils. And JF uses different chord configurations coupled with filtering via technology. They are all “gods” in their own right. RHCP with three Grammys last week. JM with Grammys and nominations. DT playing/touring with legends like Allman and Clapton. What has Prince, Van Halen, Vai, Satriani, Slash or any of the others mentioned above done recently?

ok. Who mentioned KWS? here it is: John mayer can play…but he is yet to play to his ‘current’ potential–meaning he waters himself down—and he admits to as much. WHy did he do trio? Trucks is by far the best one of the group. JF, good guitarist, lost of energy, but the dude has been apart of chart toppers since the early nineties–15 years ago—”New Guitar Gods”…I don’t think so. He would not be on taht list if it weren’t for their new album. But what ever.

My major problem with this is list is the exclusion on a talent that is on Trucks’ level, albeit with a different style…same endorsements, same story (kid prodigy); who are you thinkin?: Joe Bonamassa.

JOE BONAMASSA–How can JM trump JB for blues guitar god–I am very dissatisfied with this issue, and the credibility of the magazine as a whole has gone down a couple of notch’s.

JM is a guitar genius

Pick up 10 days out by Kenny Wayne Sheppherd,… and the re-evaluate your comments. That cat is the real deal! he should be on the cover without question!

That was my first time hearing Trucks play. He’s awesome.

Ummmm….KWS–10 days–you tell me where he stands out as a leader, lead player and blues interpreter. that album is the safest move he could make to maintain his status as a regurgitator who warrents a listen (to who I don’t know). Why don’t you take a look at that album, and a real listen…who are is band mates…ummm…who is really shinning through on that album–NOT him…did’t he write any of those songs…I am all for keepin up with standards, but where is HIS originality…he doesn’t have any, and that is why he surrounded himself with those other musicians–he is a SRV regurgitator…just like a lot of folks out there–he puts no originality into his music…Les paul said it best, “Yeah you play great son, but could your mother tell that was you on the radio?”

I really enjoyed the video with John Mayer, John Frusciante, and the great one Derek Trucks. Yes, I do agree that they are the new batch of guitar greats with great sound, technique, and genious in their song writing ability. After reading the article I do have to critique it a little. I know you cant have every guitar player listed on this but in my opinion you how can you guys have not included Henry Garza from the Los Lonely Boys. This guy can do everything with guitar. Talk about a guy whole plays from the soul. If you don’t believe me listen to the Los Lonely Boy’s first CD as well as their most recent one titled “Sacred.” Also, right now, Henry and his brothers, JoJo and Ringo are the most talented brothers performing around. They can write, sing, and virtuosos on their instruments. I have seen them in concert and they put on one hell of a performance. So, please next go around include Henry!!!

V/r

Guitar Fanatic in Nebraska

Ok, John Mayer owns. Just because he broke into the music biz with pop doesn’t make him less of a player. His “poppy” songs are still very impressive when you actually look at the music. Plus it’s the industry thats crap not mayer. He’s playing better music, now that he broke into the biz. JF and DT are also sick.

Lets just agree that these three guitarist are amazing individuals that could probably play circles around most guitarist out there however they are not quite guitar gods yet..maybe they are not quite old enough or there skill has not reach god level say…srv or Buddy guy… but yes we do enjoy there music but we are impressed with there ability and music..

All 3 are worthy of the cover…but the fact that Zakk Wylde isnt even in the top 20??? Thats insulting. You dont get to be Ozzys guitarist for the past 20 years without being one of the greatest in the world. RS…thanks for pissing Zakk off now hes going to do even GREATER things than he already has done. BLEED BLACK LABEL SOCIETY!!!

R.I.P. Dimebag (who is probably turning over in his grave) You WERE the greatest!

frusiante has more depth to offer then tequnicks
it’s about the song when he plays,
not the solo

Yes this magazine is nothing like it was years ago. It’s all about who pays the most gets mentioned. Take for instance The Bacon Brothers. Next RS will be doing an article on The Naked Brothers Band from Nickelodeon.

You are absolutely correct JOE BONAMASSA is AWESOME!

I am so happy to have all 3 of these guys on this planet doin what they do. It dosn’t matter who thinks who is better than the other. Just sit back and let your ears reap the benefits of fan-freakin-tastic guitar work for what it’s worth.

based on the climate of todays music,the best one of these guitarists is the least known,it all can be summed up that hootie and the suckfish can sell millions of albums but someone like eric johnson (who has more talent in his left hand than the entire band of hootie) is realativley an unknown

You can’t have a discussion of current Guitar Gods without mentioning Keith Urban. This boggles my mind.

The fact that John Mayer is considered a guitar god is annoying. Rolling Stone obvisously hasn’t got any notification of other great and better guitarists out there like Zakk Wylde, any one remember Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Vai, ed van halen, DIMEBAG? those are guitar GODS. This is complete news to me that John mayer is even a notable guitarist. I thought he just melodie on the acoustic and sung popy songs. As for Derek Trucks and Frusicante, they deserve to be on the cover. They’ve been playing a lot longer, and Rolling stone is neive to NOW consider Trucks and Frusicante gods. John mayer isn’t Horrible but he should not be in the same building as Frusicante, even thou his style is different, sry babe

Two words, Jake Cinninger. If you don’t know who that is, look him up immediately.

look at how derek trucks blows them away at the end with his solo

Derek Trucks is truely amazing. You have to listen to his tone and feel the emotion that pours from his guitar. When I go to see his band or the Allmans and he strikes that first note as he plugs in, it sends chills down my spine. Check out some of his live shows at The Internet Archive / Live Music Archive http://www.archive.org/se arch. php?query=collection%3A%22Dere kTrucksBand%22%20AND%20%28dere k%20trucks%20AND%20mediatype%3 Aetree%20AND%20collection%3Aet ree%29

stone fucking Gossard and Mike McCready *Pearl Jam* and Frusicante is amazing(()

How about Jonny Lang?

John Mayer is an awesome guitarist. I assume some of you never saw him live in concert. Check out one of his live CD’s…any one. If its just not your style, thats fine, but there is no denying his talent.

thank heavens all that music didn’t get wistled away while working, but maybe thats the original music medication. thanks.

All three guys are superb guitar players, and they are definitely helping fix the terrible new music of today. With that said, Derek Trucks blows all of them out of the water!

take it back….

Where the HELL is Jack White?

Its hard to understand how Betts is considered in this threesome, when he is older than Warren Haynes, essentially plays second fiddle to haynes with ABB, and was ranked lower in RS’s preposterous 100 best guitarists list a few years back…

not to mention that Gov’t Mule has been completely on fire during their tour for their High and Mighty album.

rolling stone is pure propaganda.

I think they nailed it when they called Frusciante a visonary.

Derek Trucks is the heir apparent to the throne of Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, etc. Mayer is a fantastic blues player and can play circles around most players but Derek Trucks has “IT”. You either have “IT” or you don’t and Derek had “IT” as a boy way back in 1991 at only age 11. Check out this video of an 11 year-old Derek Trucks ripping up the slide guitar:

http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=cpCvIXIcp1M

I have seen a lot of players in my 50+ years. Derek has it all. He plays, he writes, he gives back to the community, he supports others in his own spiritual way. He expresses himself throughout and does not diminish anyone else in the music, but rather blends and supports. Solos are fine but they don’t have the sustainability of a great collection of music over a long period of time. I will be the first to admit that there was a lot of Clapton’s music that I could not stomach when it was released and still can not tolerate to this day. I have yet to experience that with Derek. Just this old hippie grandma’s take on it. Shake your groove thang y’all!

Just a Quick note, None of the three are “Guitar Gods”. Satriani is the Best Period. I like also like Vai, Buckethead and Edward VanHalen and Zakk. RS is all about what is popular at the time. 20 years from now nobody will even remember who any of these three are.

If you want to just talk sheer talent than why wouldn’t you include players like Doyle Dykes (who is the most versatile player alive: blues, nashville rock, classical, bluegrass, jazz, ragtime, and etc.). Versatility wins by far…it’s much more impressive when someone can play anything and everything that he/she wants.
However, as far as mainstream artists go…John Mayer is untouchable and knows how to sell his music! Trucks is an incredible guitar and Frusciante can hold his own, but that is just my opinion.

Where the hell is Keith Urban?

Here’s an idea… get your own damn magazine and then you can write who you think is the a proper guitar hero? What’s that? That’s what I thought.

Let’s get this whole mess straightened out!
After hendrix there is a lot of good,great,awsome guitar players,guitar gods,but before them,(way before,)comes JEFF BECK.End of story.

keith urban? haha, you must be joking

and derek trucks isnt mainstream at all

Mayer wrote an awesome tribute blog to jeff beck. you should definitely check it out!!!

on myspace…sorry, forgot to clarify!

MY guitar god could beat up YOUR guitar god any day! PLEASE!!!!!
They’re All very talented. Anyone who hasn’t seen Mayer play live should before bashing him.
I owe my 16yr old Daughter big time for dragging me to see him.
How great to actually be able to have something musically in common. And I saw Eric Johnson
the week before…

Frusciante is the best…!!!

…give us more of this. awesome.

…your missing the point here people.
this is about guitarist with unique sounds and styles..no is better then the other. appreciate the talent. please, raise the conversation.

hey at least these guys are out there doing what they do gotta give credit where credit is do,but there are many others deserving the same recognition,joe bonnamossa,larry mccray,walter trout,oh yea did anyone see kenny wayne sheppard on jay last nite,someone needs to tell him that he is not SRV,it’ll never happen

i think that john frusciante is FAR BETTER than john mayer, i cant say he is much better than derek trucks because ive never heard him play guitar. i dont think john mayer is more important than the other two but i dont think he is a bad guitar player. JF has been playing guitar more than 20 years and i think that JM and DT have been playing guitar less than 10 years.
So john frusciante is more of a guitar god than the other two!
JF rules! ♥

derrick trucks has been playing professionally since he was 9or11 not sure which

but as a profesional??

sorry i was wrong about Derek truck i dont know him well
my mistake
but i still think that john has more years playing guitar

I think they are all amazing. I do not need to crap on one to make a point on the other.

I saw John Mayer live on Tuesday, I have been to a lot of concerts in my 30 years, that is just what we do. That man was absolutely amazing!
I have never experienced anything like it.
His TRY! cd with Jordan and Pino is outstanding. Check them out.

I am still checking the other two, like them more and more.
I am just happy some actual MUSICIANS are on the cover.

Can anybody tell me how to get to the video link?

yeah, well, derek trucks completely obliterates almost anyone i’ve ever heard him play alongside, his screaming spikes and melancholy slide is far above the shallow waters of frusciante’s playing

… although i do enjoy mayer’s most recent offerings; his tone is very reminiscent of hendrix

isa, John Mayer has been playing the guitar for 16 years. Don’t tell me that he doesn’t know how to play when you can’t get your facts straight.

I truly feel that John Mayer is one of the best contemporary guitar players out there. Even my 54 year old father likes John. I don’t understand how so many of you can disregard him for something like “Your Body is a Wonderland” when he’s done such amazing work like the Try! album.

i believe the cover says “the new guitar gods” that’s why Stevie ray isn’t on cover!! And, did you read the article, john mayer gives total credit where its due!

John mayer is a great guitarist I agree,but he is never a singer on top!
John get the two Grammy this Continuum,for he is (he said himself as own)a POP artist.
I know the man who plays the guitar better than him and he is a great singer than John.
So, he is the only lucky guy!That is a problem in this world!
There are a lot of people ”great talented,but no luck”.

Quit knocking Mayer. Unless YOU can play, you don’t have the right. He’s great. And if you don’t believe me, see him live. You’ll change your tune.

Let me just say, I’ve been playing guitar for 11 years and have taken lessons for 10 of those 11 years, so I have some background. John Mayer and Derek Trucks are two of the best guitar players of our time period, (that would be from the 90’s onward). I’m not trying to bash Frusciante here, but, he isn’t quite to their level. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but not quite there yet. But, as FXM said, they are all good in their own way and style. Anyway, John Mayer Kicks Ass! He’s finally getting the credit he deserves as a guitar player…as well as phenomenal musician and songwriter…

Ok people. You’ve all had your fun choosing who is better than than who. Like a few others have pointed out…they’re all too different to compare. Its like saying who’s better; Steve Vai or Brad Paisley??? There on such different sides of the spectrum that all you can say is that theyre both great at what they do. You may like one’s music better than the other or one’s style better but it doesnt necessarily mean that one is better or best.

Also, who has been playing longer doesnt mean sh*t! I’ve been playin guitar about 10 years now. There are probably guys that have been playing for 50 years that I could smoke, but also there are probably young kids who have played for 2 or 3 years who could put a lot of people (me included) to shame! How long they’ve played is irrelevant.

Another thing. Stop asking where’s SRV, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton and guys like that. Yes, theyre all gods but this is the NEW guitar gods. Key word: NEW

Im not even gona mention what I think about of them individually as players because it doesnt matter. They each deserve all the credit they’re being given just for making it to a level in the music biz most of us could only dream of. So cheers to them all!

Lastly, yes there are others that should also be up there with them. But, honestly if you really like them that much, go buy their CD or go see them in concert. Thats how you really show them you like them. Just because theyre not on some list in a magazine…so what? They still probably play sold-out arenas and sell millions of albums and influence everyone who sees them. So I doubt theyre home right now crying over a magazine spot like many of you seem to be.

derek trucks has been playing guitar, on tour, for 20 years (he’s pushing 30, started at 9). although john mayer and john frusciante are stellar in their own right, they’ve been far more well known because of their pop rock origins. derek trucks has flown under the radar because he doesn’t abandon his musical sense by doing videos and other pop-related marketing. he has been playing with foreign musicians like count m’butu and solomon burke–not the most popular artists–in an effort to develop a style that doesn’t resemble anything you’d here on KROQ. he has a far more intriguing, mature sound than the other two, and he plays with NO pick and mostly slide. but mayer is progressing nicely with more intricate voicings and chords that the average frat party guitar player wouldn’t be able to cover to lay some sorostitute. the chili peppers still sound like they did in 1987 when hilel slovak was their guitarist; frusciante has only perpetuated that tired sound. good, but not new.

if you don’t know derek trucks, check him out. his style is unique and can’t be labled “hendrix-” or “stevie ray-esque.” a true musician whose focus is on growing as a musician and within that spritual realm of music. something to be learned from all artists.

these three great and thats all we get thats all you guve us… Thanx… al…. lot….

“give” excuse me…. and “all”

see how frustrated I am… AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!

PAt and FXM … you got it right. and John Mayer is something for the 21st century – a gift and an experience. Why compare? They all have something to bring to the alter…

Come on! Deciding who plays better is stupid and you’re all missing a big point. RS Magazine is doing a great thing. (no matter who is on the cover!) They’re putting guitar players in the mainstream spotlight for a moment. Maybe this issue inspires more people to wanna pick up the guitar. thats awesome! It doesnt matter which player they like better. Its just about playing and spreading music.

All three are very good. I put Mayer and Trucks ahead of Frusciante for whatever thats worth. Mayer is super talented as a guitar player, but to me where he takes the cake is song writing where he is much better than the other two.

To those who want to compare, I’ll point out that Frusciante and Mayer, especially Mayer, seemed particularly interested in watching what Trucks was doing when Trucks was improvising. Yeah, it’s just a little promo video, and they’re just foolin’ around. But any time I’ve been just foolin’ around with other guitar players, the only times I’ve been interested in watching the other players as well as just listening to them play have been the times when I had no clue as to how they made that guitar sound like what I was hearing. To his credit, Mayer gave props to Trucks for that very same reason.

And, to me, this is what sets Trucks apart from the other two. When I listen to Frusciante or Mayer, I think to myself, “That sounds nice. Tasty. Very good.” But, when I listen to Trucks, I think, “How in the hell did he do that!?”

And it’s not just a bottleneck thing. Trucks makes that guitar cry, and it makes me cry right along with it.

So, Derek Trucks on the cover of Rolling Stone? Way cool!

Nice to see the 3 next generation guitar slingers. I love the brown note comment and then the 2 peers watching in awe as Derek Trucks shows his mojo. That is true respect!

I TRULY AGREE THAT COMPARING THESE MUSICIANS IS RIDICULOUS. MY FAVORITE ARTIST HERE IS MAYER, BUT THESE OTHER TWO ARE COMPLETELY AMAZING AS WELL. IT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT HOW THEY PLAY, IT IS ABOUT WHAT THEY BRING TO MUSIC. OR SHOULD I SAY WHAT THEY BRING BACK TO MUSIC. THESE GUYS ARE FINALLY PROVING THAT THE GUITAR IS NOT DEAD. AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THEM FOR THAT…FOR BRINGING BACK THAT FEELING OF THE 70′S AND 80′S WHERE GUITAR GODS RULED THE WORLD.

AND JUST FOR THE RECORD…I WILL ONE DAY BE ON THE COVER OF THIS MAGAZINE FOR THE SAME REASON AS THESE THREE INDIVIDUALS.

Keith Urban made the cover of Vintage Guitar magazine a couple months ago. They were extremely impressed.

The man is a genius. If you listen to his newest album, the guitar licks are sickly awesome.

I like all three of them with the added mention that Derek is the most sophisticated of the three.

Besides that, Jeff Beck is still the king of rock guitar. Maybe, if Eddie would do his best and make a triumphant return. Still even Ed would agree that guitar playing ain’t no competition, but Jeff Beck is the best.

They were watching Derek Trucks out of respect. He is an amazing guitar player, but Mayer’s licks are by far more mature. Mayer has mastered fusing jazz and blues together…Trucks isn’t quiet there yet…but he is still excellent.

I think they are all awesome. But John Mayer is the love of my life no matter what he plays or sings.
Thank you Rolling Stones for putting him on the Cover.

Of the three, Mayer gets my vote, and while Frusciante is an amazing guitarist, Mike McCready deserves a nod before him.

these 3 players didn’t even make my top 20 of the best of February 2007 list.

Mayer=GAY
FRUSCIANTE=GOD

john mayer owns the guitar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =cpCvIXIcp1M

Follow the link to a video of Derek Trucks playing guitar nearly 17 years ago at the age of 11.

Nevermind the link. Just go to YouTube and search “Who is this kid?” to find the video of an 11 year old Derek Trucks jamming out.

Prince?? You must be kiddin’, man. he’s got soul, he is a funky god…but being a good guitar player is a different thing. He always play ultra-fast pentatonic licks with distortion, going nowhere…I really admire him for all his music, but definitely not because of his guitar playing. As concerns Mayer: let’s give him a couple of years more and see if he is able to grow…

To HaH (who dubbed Mayer “gay”) … umm, that’s mature — NOT! (but you DID motivate me to cast my $.02).
I just saw John Mayer the other night (in madison, wi) — my 5th time, live. I hope there will be many more occasions — he lifts me “higher.” Must admit, I’m NOT an expert on assessing musical skill; but I know what I LOVE when I hear it. (Plus, I sure seem to be in great company.) The cool thing about J.Mayer is that he is so MULTI-talented … he is living large, using everything he has — I love that! His ability to connect the older musical genre of blues to modern times is cooler than school.(The JMTrio is VERY cool). BUT, I still LOVE his pop stuff, too — very “up”. I love the fact that he makes me want to move, then takes me to a place that is SO introspective … I think his writing ability is superb. (And, I am a writer, so THIS I feel I can say with conviction). I personally can’t get enough of him.

John Mayer is the best by far. say that ’cause i’m a member of his fan club. he’s just fantastic.

Frusciante could play hendrix songs when he was 8yrs old–lets see gay mayer do that all he can do it write songs not flat out jam like frusciante

Regarding (HaH)s comments about Mayer being (Gay)!? Yah if being gay means playn the guitar like John does then i want to be gay too!and if dating jessica simpson is gay then i really!,want to be gay! cant wait to see his show in columbus next friday at nationwide! should be a monster show!

wow…i think that was the most uneducated comment in the world brought to you by ross. frusciante is good but he was definitely out of his league on this meeting and it is evident by watching the video!!! he’s not flexible like mayer (#1) and trucks.

and secondly you put your foot in your mouth ross…mayer recorded bold as love on his new album and it rocks!!!!!

he is the greatest, and the others are good too, but he is the greatest.

These posts are QUITE entertaining — but why bother comparing? Allthree of these guys are GREAT. By the way, this is not a competition about who is “THE” best. As someone noted earlier (and quite eloquently) is the cool aspect of these three spreading MUSIC. Mayer gives CREDIT where it’s due: be it Clapton, Sting, etc … he notes that he is INSPIRED by others — and he’s gracious in doing so.
(Such a seemingly-cool person!)

Can’t imagine any of these guys have time to look at these posts … but would guess they’d laugh at the fact that they are being compared. Just share the love of the music. Live and let live!

Not to mention … J. Mayer is pretty easy on the eyes. (don’t act like you don’t know that, John! The girls totally dig you!) xo

LJSO is right, comparing these three amazing musicians is really pointless, it doesnt matter who’s “the best”. thats based on a persons opinion and style of music. All three of these men play different styles of music, and its GREAT(if everyone played the exact same..how boring would that be?) As an aspiring guitarist, all three of these guys have amazing talent and if i could get anywhere near as great as them it would be amazing. oh, and i wouldnt base everything on this one performance, fruciante wasnt intimitated or bowed over, he was being very humble about it, seeing as he did play rhythm for most of it.

everyone needs to stop bashing them. it doesn’t matter which one is better than which. the only thing that matters is there a hell of a lot better than most of us.

Here it is, kids — John Mayer is the most talented musician of this generation … just incredible. He can blues it down, he can pop it up. PLUS, his voice is beautiful & unique. Aaaa-aaand, this kid is SO damn intelligent! I truly respect people of his ilk. (We should all thank GOD that his parents caved,& let him play guitar — otherwise, we’d have another underpaid writer or engineer in the world!) Thanks JM!!!!!!

Here in Greece we know only John Frusciante.Sorry guys but we don’t know the others.Only John Frusciante.

even though he isn’t primarily a guitartist…harry connick, jr. is the MOST musically talented man alive. case closed.

And the GREATEST guitarist alive is Doyle Dykes! (youtube him and be amazed)

but Mayer is the best in today’s pop culture!

that was a pathetic video to be talkin about guitar gods! standard blues shuffle with comon scales over it! i have no doubt those three players should be on the cover, but the video is no testiment to any of their talents!

but i must say, why is mayer catching so much shit from ppl? go to youtube and check out covered in rain off his any given thursday album and tell me the guy cant hold a rock solo!

Doyle Bramhall 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

RSucks-You have no idea what you’re talking about! You obviously don’t know John Mayer’s music and know nothing about his evolution. So you should shut the fk up!

i’m a huge john frusciante fan and a huge john mayer fan. i think its pretty sweet that they’re getting the recognition they deserve.

And a little side note to Ross, who says mayer can’t “flat out jam like frusciante”, you obviously haven’t listened to john mayer and you’re just saying that because you only know the “your body is a wonderland” stuff and you assume that’s all it is. He has played at eric clapton’s crossroads guitar festivals, if all he could do was write songs, then i’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be there. maybe next time you should educate yourself before you make an opinion

John Mayer is THE HOTTEST, SEXIEST GUITARIST/MUSICIAN/SINGER/SONGWRITER ALIVE!! HE IS SO DAMN talented nobody can beat him!

I’ll second that emotion, etc. !!!!

John Mayer blows my mind…His talent is completely mind blowing…He’s obviously learned well from the masters…His musicianship is sheer brilliance!

He is well on his way to becoming a master in his own right

Jack Johnson is the greatest guitar player alive…period!

well jack johnson is a really good singer, but John Mayer is hands down te best. his lyrics. his voice, his awesome guitar skills, the music, and everything all together is the best out there.

I freakin love John Mayer. He is very talented and better than most of the music produced today. He learned from the best now he is the best.

I’m gonna have to go with the crowd favorite (from the comments I’ve read)and say Frusciante, here. Saw him live…simply amazing. I’ve seen so many damn bands live and Frusciante was definitely THE GUITARIST to contend with. Unfortunately in this video, RS had to stick him two blues guitarists, but in a way, it showed Fru’s humility with his simple rhythm section going there, especially contrasting from the egotistical John Mayer. Derek has something new going on there that I’m digging, but John Mayer seems to be a little too wrapped up his celebrity status and not in his guitar soul, as it shows in his playing. Fru takes the cake for me as he is the most innovative and has the greates technological knowledge. The guy can play a solo just with his effects…not many are capable of that.

They are all accomplished musicans, writiers and guitar players. Derek Trucks is a prodigy. Derek was touring when he was 11-12 years old. He studied classical Indian music and is basically a musicolgist. Derek cannot be compared to any other guitar player ever really. He is 26 and has had 15 yrs as a pro musican?

John Mayer is a pretty good musician, but he is a fucking asshole! After seeing how he treated ryan after the grammy’s…I will never go see another john mayer concert! After all we are just people! John Mayer should realize how priviledged he is and have more respect towards others. I use to be a big fan, but the older I get the more I dislike him! He is not “in repair” that is just who he is!

John Mayer is not the best musician out there! He is descent at best! Most blues players will jam there whole lives and never sell out! Just to be submerged in the amazing feeling of the blues. It boggles my fucking mind that people really think he is so stellar! My guitar teacher in Durango Colorado would absolutley own John Mayer on the guitar! There are thousands of players ot there just like my teacher who unfortunately never get recognized. Make the point his music is descent! It has attraction to the masses in a culture that is completely lost in the real meaning of life! It absolutely fucking disgusts me! John Mayer you blow balls! In fact you blw ryan’s balls on the grammies! Peace YOU BITCH!

In there own right all three of the guitarists are geniuses who each deserves great amounts of credit as they have brought the guitar back to life.

However listening to Frusciante and Mayer i just feel that ive heard this all before. Sound and technique wise they bring nothing new to the table that this generation has already heard.

Where as Derek trucks gives us a sound and a style of play that i can guarantee most people in todays pop culture would have never heard. Derek provides so many influences in his sounds from Indian to the most basic of blues playing.

On a closing note i will say that all three of these guitarists are absolutely amazing.

JF’s the best! No Jm’s the best and he’s soooo dreamy! Yea, but DT’s the real prodigy! blah blah blah…
Nobody’s a god, but there are some damn good guitarists out there. Agreed? No? OK, keep on babbling then.

Hahah how can people say jack Johnson is the greatest guitar player alive! What an absolute crock of crap. Anyway I just saw dereck trucks perform on tour with Eric Clapton. He is by far the most original and energetic player I have seen. Throughout the Clapton gig he was the only other player on stage that had the flair to stand aside Eric and make people’s jaws drop. Now john Mayer is a huge fan of Clapton’s and has even acknowledged him as a source of inspiration in his latest cd release ‘continuum’. Yet Eric Clapton did not choose to drag along john Mayer on his recent 2006/07 world tour. The man who was once considered ‘god’ chose dereck trucks, and a wise choice it was. You can even see when dereck trucks solos towards the end of the above video that both john Mayer and Frusciante turn and pay attention to what he is doing. That’s what dereck trucks does HE CAN MAINTAIN PEOPLES ATTENTION. And at a recent Clapton concert he managed to do that for a solid 2 hours. Although I may seem bias towards trucks I still think Mayer is a great guitar player, the only problem is Mayer is regurgitating many guitar phrases or licks that had made his heroes such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Clapton, Buddy Guy etc stand out. He’s not original; however he gets by because im sure the collective majority of his fan base is unaware of these guitar styles he has stolen from many of his heroes. Now I know people will say that throughout blues history people have often stolen licks and phrases. But john adds nothing new to them. Repetition will not generate a much needed spark in blues and roots music.

This is for L.Page … (sidebar note, at that): How do you know that Clapton didn’t want Mayer on his recent world tour?? The thing is, John Mayer has been a pretty busy guy this past year or so … my guess is, he was busy doing his OWN thing! And he’s got a lot going on, too — casts a wide net, so to speak. Writing for multiple projects (blues & pop — both essential)& the guy is even experiementing in comedy!!! (and, he’s hilarious too — really). I LOVE the many dimensions of John Mayer — that’s MY opinion.
BUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID HERE (and many of you are missing the point):
Rolling Stone chose ALL 3 of these artists to highlight: they are not in competition with each other. Each brings something different to the table — variety is the SPICE of LIFE! Time to celebrate that, OK?

For all those giving respect and credit to Mayer, fine. I like his style too because he sounds like SRV. But for God’s sake, listen to stevie ray vaughan and tell me honestly if you don’t notice WAY too much of a resemblance. I want originality and when i hear Mayer, i hear a SRV hack. Sorry John. Don’t try to be him. You may come close, but no cigar. Be yourself. Come up with your own sound and then i’ll give you kudos.

So someone gave the link to derek trucks playing a gig in atlanta at age 11. (who is this kid? on youtube) Umm… holy shit! When i was 11 i was playing little league baseball, watching cartoons and building forts with my friends. No wonder he’s so friggin’ good 15 years later.

No matter what anybody says, John is the best; his concert on Valentines Day was frickin amazing!

the regurgitation of sound here shouldnt even be an issue considering that’s all blues has ever been, and i dont mean that in a negative way. blues artists have been taking songs and sounds and re-creating them forever; feeding off each other. i get that mayer is definately channeling so many of his influences but all musicians are ripping off someone else. theres nothing original anymore. name me someone you think is original and i can trace it back to hundreds of people who have been doing it for years. i think each person recognized here deserves the recognition, theyre great guitar players who are popularizing music that deserves it. mayer, i agree gets more recognition because of his commercial power, but i still think he deserves the title, even if his similarities are abundant between himself and vaughn. mayer is still evolving as a musician and i think in time he should be able to break out of the mimicking and become more creative.
ps rolling stone-why even put trucks and frusciante on the cover when theyre basically kissing mayers feet? i have to admit, my personal preference is mayer, but that was just insulting to the other two.

WHERE IS ZAKK F’N WYLDE??? HE BLOWS THES GUYS AWAY ANYDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ABOUT POPULARITY NOT TALENT!!!!! SHAME ON YOU ROLLING STONE!!!!!

Funny how people compare the three guitarists…
It’s such a nice surprise to have John F and John M on a front cover and in an interview playing together. John F has been my ‘hero/idol’ for many years however I’ve found John Ms music very joyful and swinging for a couple of years too.
But it disturbs me somewhat that people are going on about Frusciante being the less talented… jeeez, just cause he doesnt show off?

Sorry, me again. Just read thru others comments and it got me somewhat annoyed,

I just need to comment on what Eric wrote:

‘| 2/15/2007, 10:41pm,
” I’m not trying to bash Frusciante here, but, he isn’t quite to their level. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but not quite there yet.”

Jeeeez, Im sorry, but JF has PAST their level. He’s got nothing to prove and isn’t trying to either. If you listen to what John F played when he was 19 you’d be amazed and thinking to yourself that he is one hell of a guitarist!! Wondering why he doesnt solo like that anymore etc.
I don’t see the reason or joy in comparing such different guitarists. Also, before you can give a rightful opinion(if not based on what kind of music you like but based on musical facts) then you need to have listened to what the different guitarists have played thruout the years….

Great article! I grew up listening Hendrix, Clapton, Richards, Townsend, SRV etc and it’s pretty cool to see/hear that John F. from the Chili Peppers is finally getting his due respect. Thanks and by the way, how/where can I purchase the b-side “Lyon 6.06.06 that is mentioned in your article? Can’t seem to locate it.

1.) SRV influenced, yes — but give credit where it’s due — JM definitely has his own style.

2.)To those of you out there who equate him only to “Wonderland” …
delve deeper — it’s worth it.

3.) And still … “Your Body is a Wonderland” IS a great pop song …

4.) and yes — JM was amazing on Valentine’s Day. *Kind of a slow crowd, though. Madison is a college town; if you’re listening JM, stick w/milwaukee venues in wisconsin –
it’s a cooler city. Please play
“Summerfest” again!

just me is a fuckin idiot. john mayers music and solos are not like stevie ray vaughan’s. yes he is influenced by stevie, but he has a distinctive sound that no one else can achieve. derek and john are equally as unique and awesome players. why cant people just accept that all three of these guys kick some major ass.

you all need to understand that the article is focused on THREE not ONE. It’s more about they good things out through their music and less about the “best” guitar player. Although you may or may not agree that these are the best guitar players around, realize that there are others who are undiscovered and probably have more talent than these “guitar gods”. Then again..I guess we will never know..

Watching the video … to me, the only one that seems comfortable in his skin is MAYER. He is such a personality — and very cool, to give attention AND credit to each of his compadres here (note: neither Derek nor Chili-pepper guy do the same for JM). Sure, Mayer has achieved celeb status (and NOT because of the ditz he’s supposedly dating; he’s way too good for her)
BUT, he is the TOTAL package. People need to stop downing him …
as his marketing is smart, HE seems smart … and even though he has succombed to the money-maker mass-market stuff, he still has a ton of integrity as an artist. Who WOULDN”T go his route, given the chance?

John Frusciante is amazing. Always changing…ALWAYS giving credit where credit is due…always humble… always coming from a place of love…MORE than comfortable in his own skin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have watched Derek play since he was a little kid, I think the first time he may have been 9 years old and Entertainment Weekly did a little spot on him way back then. When he was I would say about 11 he played a gig at Music Midtown where he did some stuff with Buddy Guy that was pretty incredible for a kid that age, I remember the look on Buddy’s face, like “Are you kidding me, how old is this kid?” Both Mayer and Derek played a lot around Atlanta, Derek more so because Mayer came along sometime after he did, after seeing both of them pretty much quite a bit, I always felt Derek’s signature playing was his stamp. In other words if you were to record a bunch of players on random songs that you could not actually attribute to them, I could pick Derek out every time, no question as to who it was. After all these years that has not changed other than he just gets better and better. His guitar just sings no gimmicks, no enhancements just straight up perfection and pure sound.

As far as being comfortable in his own skin, Derek has always been comfortable in his own skin, doing it his way, he always has. I saw Mayer on the Grammys and he did a nice job, the Chili Peppers sound the same as always which is nothing against John F. as a player, it is just their stuff just does not seem to grow with them but that being said John F. did a nice job on what he was given to work with. As a vocalist John Mayer’s sound now becomes his signature stamp, vocally he has his own sound which is unmistakably his.

But as far as the guitar Derek’s sound will always be his and everyone I know in the music business have nothing but the utmost respect for Derek and recognize him for the talent that he is today and understand that he will be around for generations to come. I have never seen anybody work harder, his schedule is grueling to say the least but I have never known him not to be up to the challenge…ever.

I think john mayer was the best out of all of them, and John F. was the worst, John mayer is so slow tempo and has so much feeling in his guitar, and John F. to me is just, he makes one riff and plays that over and over again, kind of like he did here,

Frusciante is the master! take my example of the red hot chili peppers live slane castle performance -parallel universe- simply amazing solo by frusciante–mayer is good but he draws to many comparisons to stevie ray vaughn–alotho mayer is the best writer of the 3 he isnt in my opinion the most talented guitarist but he could kill me lol..trucks i dont really know ive not really heard of him but in my opinion frusciante is the most well-rounded of the 3…if nebody disagrees well im sorry not everybody thinks the exact same way!

somebody watch john frusciante jam with the chili peppers performing “dont forget me” at slane—then if ur hears are up for the task watch the extremly horrible performance by john mayer doing “bold as love” not only one of the weakest jimi hendrixs songs but with mayer doing it its just plain wrong—just no enthusiasm as JF !

John Mayer wishes he could play guitar like Keith Urban.

shakur is a fuckin moron, bold as love is one of the BEST hendrix tunes, and john pays great hommage to it on that video. BUT I ALSO THINK FURSCIANTE IS AWESOME. AND I LOVE DEREK’S SOUND AS WELL. ALL OF THESE GUYS ARE AMAZING PLAYERS, ALL UNIQUE AND GREAT. yea there are people who i think are guitar gods and arent on the list but it doesnt matter because these three guys are gutiar gods. we shouldn’t underplay any of them.

Ross to ur comment about mayer being the best writer….im gonna have to dissagree. If uve heard any of Frusciante’s solo stuff id think ud change ur mind. and if u have heard some of it then well ur def.
And to all the losers hoo think Frusciante is the worst out of the three, im gonna have to highly dissagree with u too. He’s just not a show off. he clearly has much more years of experience than both of them.
Every one is entitled to their own opinion, but….John Frusciante is the greatest guitarist alive!
FRUSCIANTE 4 LIFE

The Chili Peppers seem to be same-old stuff, status-quo for some time now; used to be my favorite band but can hardly listen to them anymore. Meanwhile my wifey has been a Mayer fan for years — never liked him, then she dragged me to a concert last summer. i was BLOWN AWAY. Seems he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves (from many) until he’s experienced “live.” His bubble gum sells to all the kids buying music (smart); but his real talent is left for his die-hard fans to discover.

So John Mayer decided to close up shop on accoustic sensitivity in 2005?

Where was all this heavily SRV influence? Looks like Mr. Mayer decided to reinvent himself to get some respect.

John Clayton Mayer (born on October 16, 1977) is an American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Originally from Connecticut, he briefly attended the Berklee College of Music before moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, where he refined his skills and began gaining a following. After originally performing mainly acoustic rock, in 2005 he made a transition towards the blues genre with the formation of the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can also be seen on his latest studio album Continuum, which was released on September 12, 2006. Mayer recently won two Grammy awards for Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Waiting on the World to Change” at the 49th Grammy Awards in February 2007.

Mayer’s other interests include stand-up comedy, design, and writing; he has written pieces for several magazines, most notably for Esquire.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, the second of three sons.[1] There, he became friends with future tennis star James Blake.[2] Mayer attended Fairfield High School (now Fairfield Warde High School) for most of high school, although he attended Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Connecticut for his junior year, where he was enrolled in the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School. Then known as the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad, it is a magnet program for students in Fairfield County wanting to learn Japanese.

Mayer listened to pop music, but it was not until the age of thirteen that his aspiration for playing the guitar was realized, and his father rented one for him.[3] [4] On Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Mayer confessed that he had played the clarinet for a while in grammar school, with minor success.

Generally, it was believed that Mayer’s father, a Bridgeport High School principal, had given him a confiscated tape player that contained an album by Stevie Ray Vaughan. However, Mayer, in an 2006 interview on the New Zealand show Close Up said the cassette was given to him by a neighbor, sparking Mayer’s love of the blues.[5] After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area.[4] While in high school, he was in a band called Villanova Junction with Joe Beleznay, Tim Procaccini, and Rich Wolf.[6]

When Mayer was seventeen, he was suddenly stricken with a cardiac arrhythmia that sent him to the hospital for a weekend. The trauma of the incident sparked his songwriting, and he penned his first lyrics the night he got home. Shortly thereafter, he began suffering from crippling panic attacks and even now he keeps Xanax (an anti-anxiety drug) with him, just in case.[7].

Road to mainstream success. After playing the guitar for several years, Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of nineteen.[1] After two semesters, he chose to cut his studies short in favor of a move to Atlanta, Georgia. With his friend and bandmate, Clay Cook, he began his career in earnest there, quickly making a name for the two-man band, LoFi Masters. They frequented the local coffeehouse and club circuit in venues like Eddie’s Attic.[4] After the band LoFi Masters split, Mayer began his solo career. With the help of local producer/engineer Glenn Matullo, Mayer recorded the independent EP Inside Wants Out. Cook is also cited as the co-writer of many of the songs from the album, most notably, the ballad “Comfortable.”

The EP ultimately contributed to Mayer being signed to Columbia Records, and two years later, in 2001, he released his first major-label album, Room for Squares. This “debut” included several of the songs that had been previously released. By 2002, Room for Squares had spawned several radio hits, including “No Such Thing,” “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” and, ultimately, “Why Georgia.” In 2003, he won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 release of “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” In his acceptance speech he commented on his desire to live up to it.

In 2003, Mayer released the follow-up album, Heavier Things. This album also brought critical and commercial success. Although the album did top the charts for a time, it ultimately did not sell as well as Room for Squares. However, Mayer’s most successful single to date, “Daughters,” yielded Mayer a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2005. For this award, he beat contenders Alicia Keys and Kanye West. He dedicated the award to his grandmother, Annie Hoffman, who died in May 2004. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, beating Elvis Costello, Prince, and Seal for the Award. Mayer also was honored with the Hal David Starlight Award (previously the Starlight Award) at the 37th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2006.[8]

In 2004, Mayer worked with hip hop artist and producer Kanye West, appearing both on rapper Common’s song “Go!” and being included initially on West’s album Late Registration, though their collaboration “Bittersweet” remains unreleased. Due to these collaborations, Mayer has received praise from rap heavyweights like Jay-Z and Nelly. When asked about his presence in the hip hop community, he said that, “It’s not music out there right now. That’s why, to me, hip-hop is where rock used to be.”[9]

It was around this time that Mayer began hinting a change in his musical interests, announcing that he was “closing up shop on acoustic sensitivity.”[9] In 2005 , he began a string of collaborations with various important and provocative blues artists, including Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and jazz artist John Scofield. He also toured with legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, which included a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. These collaborations led to recordings with these several of these artists, namely, Clapton (Back Home, Crossroads Guitar Festival), Guy (Bring ‘Em In), Scofield (That’s What I Say) and King (80).

Although Mayer has maintained a reputation for being a sensitive, meticulous singer-songwriter, he has also gained distinction as an accomplished guitarist, influenced by the likes of the above artists, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Freddie King.

In the spring of that year, Mayer formed the John Mayer Trio with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, both of whom he had met through previous studio sessions. The trio played a combination of blues and rock music. In November 2005, they released a live album called Try! The first single, “Who Did You Think I Was?,” lyrically underscores Mayer’s decision to move away from acoustic pop music. In October 2005, the Trio opened for The Rolling Stones during a sold-out club tour of their own.

The John Mayer Trio took a break in mid-2006.[11] John declared at the end of their performance at the Tempe Music Festival in March of 2006, “This is Steve Jordan, that’s Pino Palladino, and I’m John Mayer. And for a few more minutes, we are the John Mayer Trio.” On September 12, however, he announced plans for the Trio to begin work on a studio album.[12]

Cover art for the single “Waiting on the World to Change,” the first from the album Continuum.

Mayer’s latest album, entitled Continuum, was released on September 12, 2006, and was produced by Mayer himself and John Mayer Trio drummer Steve Jordan. Mayer suggested the album was intended to combine his signature pop music with the feel, sound, groove and sensibilities of the blues. In that vein, two of the tracks from his trio release Try! — the funky “Vultures” and the blues centrepiece “Gravity” — also were included on Continuum.

The first single from Continuum was “Waiting on the World to Change,” which debuted on The Ron and Fez Show. The song was the third most downloaded song of the week on the iTunes Music Store following its release on July 11, 2006, and debuted at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. On August 23, 2006, Mayer debuted the entire album on the Los Angeles radio station Star 98.7, giving commentary on each and every track. A subsequent version was released the next day on the Clear Channel Music website as a streaming sneak preview. On September 22, 2006, Mayer appeared on CSI, playing live (albeit abridged) versions of “Waiting on the World to Change” and another track from Continuum, “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

On December 7, 2006, the 2007 Grammy nominees were announced. Mayer was nominated for five Grammys including the prestigious Album of the Year. John Mayer Trio also received a nomination for their album Try!. He won two: Best Pop Song with Vocal for “Waiting on the World to Change” and Best Pop Album for Continuum.
In a December blog entry Mayer announced he had begun writing new material.[13] He has also indicated that he’s in the studio experimenting with music in a sort of a blend of jazz (mentioning Elvin Jones as inspiration) and pop — aiming to produce what he calls today’s “modern music,” as jazz was once called.[14]

I think that john mayer is one of the best guitar players ever, I mean I love his technique and the way he plays, hes obviously the best one of three.. he other ones are good too but are not as good as he is. Love Continuum,, keep up the good work man..
loves
annie (from argentina)

i agree frusciante 4 life–altho it didnt say that i have heard all of frusciante solo work and my personal favorite song of his “loss” kicks ne of mayers songs butt! but frusciantes solo stuff isnt as widely noticed as mayers was—but it should be!

There have been plenty of solid points made in reference to whom is the best out of the chosen three, and it IS tough to compare when each artist has their own unique style, however what makes a guitar player great is originality. When people think guitar gods they think along the lines of Hendrix, Clapton, srv etc. These players introduced new sounds to the music scene at a time when nothing like that had ever been experienced before. Out of the 3 chosen artists above, Dereck Trucks is the most noticeable artist bringing something new to the guitar world. As much as I enjoy john mayers music he is very much copying the styles of stevie ray vaughan, buddy guy and Eric Clapton. I just feel I have heard it before. Although many Mayer fans would argue he is the best I believe the majority of these JM fanatics would not have been exposed to the likes of Clapton, srv and buddy. Have a good hard listen and you will know what I mean when i talk about similarity.

I think there is also proof in the above video when you watch JM’s and JF’s head turn when dereck solos. Its a shame Dereck has not held so much of the spotlight compared to the other 2 artists, although he was the YOUNGEST ever inductee into the rolling stones top 100 guitarists ever. But I guess that just doesn’t count if you don’t have the looks and charm of a pretty boy pop artist and exposure of a chilli pepper. Get them all up on stage together and I am sure by the end of the concert there will be many more Dereck Trucks fans than beforehand.

There have been plenty of solid points made in reference to whom is the best out of the chosen three, and it IS tough to compare when each artist has their own unique style, however what makes a guitar player great is originality. When people think guitar gods they think along the lines of Hendrix, Clapton, srv etc. These players introduced new sounds to the music scene at a time when nothing like that had ever been experienced before. Out of the 3 chosen artists above, Dereck Trucks is the most noticeable artist bringing something new to the guitar world. As much as I enjoy john mayers music he is very much copying the styles of stevie ray vaughan, buddy guy and Eric Clapton. I just feel I have heard it before. Although many Mayer fans would argue he is the best I believe the majority of these JM fanatics would not have been exposed to the likes of Clapton, srv and buddy. Have a good hard listen and you will know what I mean.

I think there is also proof in the above video when you watch JM’s and JF’s head turn when dereck solos. Its a shame Dereck has not held so much of the spotlight compared to the other 2 artists, although he was the YOUNGEST ever inductee into the rolling stones top 100 guitarists ever. But I guess that just doesn’t count if you don’t have the looks and charm of a pretty boy pop artist and exposure of a chilli pepper. Get them all up on stage together and I am sure by the end of the concert there will be many more Dereck Trucks fans than beforehand.

Um, to answer why John Mayer was not on tour with Clapton. Perhaps it is because he is on his OWN tour for 06-07. Just a thought.

Frusciante is one of the most brilliant dynamic, diverse guitarists out there. Just because he doesnt go out there and show off doesn’t make him the worst out of the three. I love John Mayer, and give him the credit for being an amazing guitarist, but if you really study both of them and look into there guitar playing, Frusciante far surpases Mayer. If Frusciante wanted to, he could out play and guitist out there. He is a master at improvisation and he can solo much better than these guys. In the writing aspect, look into his solo work. He is an amazing writer and just because he is simplistic doesn’t mean he is a poor guitarist. He believes its not about showing off, or saying “Hey, look what I can do”, its about making good sounds. He is the kinda person that can take two notes and play them in different patterns that would make them sound amazing. Also, his style is more funk than blues. He can do anything he wants with a guitar and for that he is amazing. He doesn’t have to show off. And also, everyone is entitled to there opinion, but the Chili Peppers have made some of the best music of all time. The hold the record for most number one singles on the billboard modern rock chart and for good reason. They have two albums in the top 100 greatest albums ever and continue to make great music. Read Scar Tissue and learn that they are also amazing people. They are a band consisting of a Guitar god, a Bass god, a Drum god and one of the most recognizable, amazing voices in the music world. A lot of people have lost intrest in them, but i can’t see why. Everything from Uplift Mofo and before to Stadium Arcadium is amazing. Even if you don’t like the music it is still great. These are three amazing guitarist, part of the reason they are being called “gods”, but I dont think anyone can compare to frusciante.

tylergolato@hot mail.com

My opinion:
John Frusciante very much deserves this name. He has tons of experience along with knowledge for the guitar that most people will not have in their life time. He doesn’t play to be recognized, he plays what he hears in his head and it flows through his body and comes out sounding like a masterpiece. I’m not saying he is perfect, every musician has flaws and some bad ideas, but when Frusciante is on, you know by the feeling you get when you hear his music. I know I definetly get movement from his work; even if he is playing the same piece over and over again, everything in his entire psyche comes out in his work and it could sound completely different each time. I play the guitar and I know he is one of the few artists who makes me want to get better.

Hey sarah dont even put john mayer and clapton in the same sentence together ok! Clapton is in a league of his own. Its a shame john mayer even attempts to copy eric clapton’s material and guitar phrases. Its a shame he hacks a large majority of SRV’s material too. Get your own style johny boy!

hahahah i love how pathetic some of these JM fans comments are. For example ‘Trucks isn’t quiet there yet…but he is still excellent’. Oh so he isnt quiet there yet is he and john mayer is! I guess that’s why Clapton took him around the world to play with him. And was john mayer the youngest inductee into the rolling stones top ‘100 guitar players of all time…no i believe that was Dereck Trucks. John mayer is a great player and I love his music too but dont belittle dereck trucks because you have no fricken clue who he is. Go see him play before you make your mind up. I have seen both JM and trucks play and i can tell you mayer has nothing on this guy and thats even when trucks isnt using a slide!

Well aparantly you missed Crossroads with Eric Clapton, he had John M. join him there. I do not think Clapton would mind, did you even read the article? I grew up listening to Clapton, love him. Oh and Double Trouble has had him with them. He was influenced by Both SRV and Clapton, but I think he has his own style.
Also unfortunetly you have not listened to a lot of John Mayer’s stuff, he does have his own style, check out TRY!

I think these three guys are amazing. That is all.
Oh, and p.s., don’t tell me what I can do, your not “my mother”.

bahahaha um yeah I have seen crossroads and the intro he plays to city love is pretty much SRV material. Oh and I own try, it’s actually in my car right now but yeah jeez im pretty sure that’s SRV material too. Hey check out his signature fender Stratocaster….last time I checked its pretty much an SRV Stratocaster with altered pickups and a pick guard. Nice try but he aint that original. Oh and it was often john mayer that invited double trouble to play with him. Pretty sad that he’s trying to fill the shoes of Stevie. Its also pretty sad that you continue to use John Mayer in the same sentence as stevie!

hes got you there! My vote goes to Dereck Trucks, always loved slide players guess thats because i cant play slide for crap hahah. He seems to have come out of know where, how old is this guy? Bahh he has way too much talent.

peace out
ps everyone stope their bitching about who is better. Thank god there are players like these guys who at least offer some diversity with all this crap music i hear lately on the radio…looking at you gwen steffani hahah

JM | 2/16/2007, 11:18 am EST said,

“Mayer has mastered fusing jazz and blues together…Trucks isn’t quiet there yet…”

I’m sorry, but that just strikes me as a phenomenally ignorant statement. DTB’s first, self-titled, album is straight-ahead jazz, and Trucks is clearly quite capable of playing blues. So, how does one conclude that Trucks isn’t quite there yet in fusing blues and jazz? Better yet, listen to “Live at Georgia Theater,” and you’ll hear so many different styles of music fused together in so many different ways you’ll get dizzy just trying to figure out where on the planet he’s standing at any given moment. Not only has Trucks been there, he’s been there and back several times over.

Im with rick on this one. I read that same comment down the list and many other ignorent comments that ride off dereck trucks. Dereck Trucks is the youngest ever guitar player to be listed in the rolling stones top 100 greatest guitarist of all time. I just saw him play with clapton on a recent world tour and he was incredible. He has also been touring non stop for many years making him one of the busiest session guitarist out. He is easily the most unique guitarist from the above 3 and its amazing how noone seems to have noticed that both JM and JF turn to watch trucks solo towards the end of the video clip.

Sarah,

I didn’t miss the Crossroads Guitar Festival. In fact, I have the DVD, and I just watched Mayer play a few minutes ago. Not bad. He certainly deserved to be on that stage in that milieu.

Then I put in the Allman Brothers “Live at the Beacon Theater” from their 2003 concert, and watched Trucks play his solo on Desdemona. You can see it for yourself on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=Vuadh1o0yC8

The out-of-key arpeggios he does near the end of the solo are simply mind-blowing. (And, to that chap who said that Trucks isn’t quite there yet with fusing blues and jazz, that solo is conclusive evidence that you clearly do not know what you are talking about.)

Lastly, folks, there is a point to talking about which of these three players is the best. Frusciante and Mayer have each received quite a bit of commercial recognition for what they’ve done. And, they deserve the commercial recognition they’ve received. Trucks hasn’t received that commercial recognition, but his talent is such that he deserves it more than the other two combined. That’s why those of us who are in Trucks’ corner are rather vehement about our views. It’s one of the things that sucks about the music industry. The people who really do have phenomenal talent rarely get the kudos they deserve for the gound-breaking work they do.

None of that means you have to like Derek Trucks’ music. However, by any objective measure you can possibly imagine, there really is no comparison that puts Frusciante and Mayer on the same level as Trucks.

Nor, for that matter, does this mean that Frusciante and Mayer are bad guitar players. Hell, I’d give my left nut to be half as good as either one of them.

However, there is great, and there is absolutely superlative. Frusciante and Mayer get the “great” label. Trucks gets the “absolutely superlative” label.

Hats off to Rick for the previous comment. There have been many ignorant comments made which attempt to ride off Dereck Trucks, however DT is by far the most unique and original guitarist out of the 3. You could put derecks playing in any song and you would be able to pick him out a mile away! Unfortunately the majority of Mayers licks have been cut and pasted from many SRV, clapton and buddy guy tunes. I respect him for ‘bringing back the blues’ (attempting anyway) but ive heard it all before. What made previous guitar players ‘gods’ (such as Hendrix, Clapton, srv etc) is that they offered something new in a time when nothing like that had been attempted before. Im not saying Dereck should be considered immediately in the same breath as these legends but trucks is the only one that comes close to bringing the guitar world something new.

Im a huge fan of all 3 and have seen each one of these guys play live. Each player is unbelievable, however guys if you got all 3 of these players on stage and into a ‘riff off’ Trucks would win hands down each time. I had no idea who Dereck Trucks was until i saw him play with EC and as much as i hate to admit it DT often upstaged clapton on a select number of solos. He is awesome without the slide too!!

Mayer = GAY

FRUSCIANTE = GOD

FRUSCIANTE = GOD

FRUSCIANTE = GOD

FRUSCIANTE = GOD

John Frusciante is GOD ….he is just too good to be compared with Mayer. Sadly hav’nt heard Trucks.
By the way i hope people have heard John’s solo works before they post over here, he is so very good.

What I feel is most important for every musician here is to recognise all of the three as what they are: Amazing, gifted talents playing way better than anyone spilling their guts about how someone sucks. Not one of them sucks. They’re past that, can’t do that anymore. Fact. Now for my views on the three:

For me personally John Mayer stands out more because of his songwriting than his guitarwork, though the two are definitely welded together in his case. I mean he uses his feel for his guitar to produce unique numbers, insofar I don’t see him as warming up yesterday’s food but really thinking about what might be on the menue tomorrow. John Frusciante is a legend, every kid’s hero, a survivor and great guitaist. Yet in my ears his songwriting somehow lacks the concise maturity and preciceness Mayer’s songs already possess. As for Derek Trucks: Have not yet heard enough to really build an image, but from the little I’ve heard I think he’s awesome. I’ll keep listening to all three of ‘em. Thanks Rolling Stone.

Reviewing great guitar players over the last 30 years three categories come to mind – brilliant technicians, those able to play from the soul, and the few who are both. Al Dimeola may be the most technically gifted in history but his own music can be so passionless it may as well have been computer generated. John Mayer falls in to the second category and gets my vote as the best of these three. However, to mention him in the same sentence with SRV is premature at best. Stevie had it all – technical brilliance and gut wrenching passion. None of these players can make that claim, which is no dishonor as SRVs come along so rarely. I also agree that John Mayer is very derivative of the greats who came before him but give him time. He’s only released two albums of mature hard rock and blues and no doubt will continue to evolve into his own sound on future releases. He ain’t no bubble gum flash in the pan.

john frusciante should be the only one on that cover.

to say that Frusciante is the only one on the cover is absolutely crazy. and if you think john mayer is the best youre out of your mind. all 3 are great guitarists. mayer copies great riffs and frusciante can write music beautifully but Derek trucks takes the cake. He is definitely the most underrated because he doesnt get much exposure. Derek trucks can solo like nobodys business and you can feel his music. he definitely puts more soul into it than any of the three on the cover.

How Cute! Three talented whipper-snappers as “Guitar Gods.”

Whatever happened to Alan Holdsworth or Doyle Dykes making the patently impossible look absolutely effortless, or Pat Metheney re-inventing what a guitar is for as profoundly as Jimi did a generation earlier?

Please, people… not everyone with talent needs or deserves to be deified.

I was reading the article and they have other guitarists listed too and I didnt see Henry Garza of the Los Lonely Boys. I Saw that man live and he blew me away more than John Mayer or Derek Trucks did when I saw them

Stoner Rock guitar god should be Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age. That guy is amazing!

All of the guitarist are great, and even though there is maaany more that could be listed as a “guitar god” I think the three that you’ve chosen fit the position.
John Mayer may not seem like a “guitar god” on his cd’s but, if you hear the kid in concert, hes absolutely amazing.

everyone that says one is better than the other is a fucking idiot. music isnt about whos solos are better, its about the three of those guys all composing wonderful music. they all have kick ass chops and they all write different but damn good music.

Looking at all three of these guys and what they have accomplished you could say that:

John Frusciante gets the award for over coming a horrible drug addiction that he himself would say he ran to with open arms. After losing all his teeth and living in squalor, he did come back literally from the dead to earn respect from his peers. For that reason alone I give him kudos and wish him many more years of success. Out of the three he is the oldest but unfortunately he wasted some of his best years chasing the needle. That being said he seems to have risen above it and I hope he continues to do so and hopefully his full potential is yet to be seen.

John Mayer the second oldest in the group until recently his claim to fame was his acoustic sentimental dribble which in 2005 he decided to give up in favor of garnering respect from his peers. All of his earlier work had no SRV influence what so ever, as he was very popular with the frat crowd and crooning to the girlies. He seems to have been a person willing to compromise musical integrity for fame, which he has done up to this point. Most of his work with the legends has sprung up in the last few years as now he has fame he wants respect, so a reinventing of himself has been underway for the last few years. Then he ruins it with running around with Jessica Simpson another person who is best considered a tabloid phenomenon. So instead of being focused on musical integrity you can expect more tabloid fodder as the entertainment press follows him and Jessica around and having his picture on the front of every tabloid in the country. Move over Anna Nicole it’s the John Mayer and Jessica Simpson show……

Derek Trucks, the youngest of the three, apparently John F has 9 years on him age wise John M has 2 so these two guys have a bit of advantage lets say if they had all been on the road when they were 9 like he was but they were not. On that level Derek probably has a bit more road experience under his belt. Derek having played with the likes of BB King, John Lee Hooker, Steven Stills, Buddy Guy, Bob Dylan, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Allman Brothers Band before he was 15 years old says that he earned the respect of his peers a long time ago. He buys a beat up acoustic guitar at a garage sale when he is nine years old and with a few basic lessons from a family friend is playing professionally within a year. No small accomplishment for such a young person. His career musical library is a host of jazz, blues, classical Indian, funk, world music as well as Latin and Oriental influences. I have to admire someone who does not have reinvent themselves to garner respect, he has had that for many years from his musical peers, stayed away from the usual pitfalls instead of running towards it. I have to give this guy thumbs up for sticking to his guns, not selling out to become famous and probably not really caring if he ever is. This player is a true musician’s musician who will stand the test of time, really he already has because he does it for the right reason, he seems to really love the music and consistently gets the job done.

I just want to know where henry garza is on this list he came out playing blues-rock guitar john mayer just started plaing blues-rock in a mainstream way a year ago and if you ask me jack white should have been on the cover

These 3 wish they had the talent Keith Urban has on the electric.

This ain’t CMT man….

john mayer & jessica simpson

Page 1 of 199,148 results ·

200,000 hits on John & Jessica, now thats integrity!

If any body else should have been on the cover it’s Omar of Mars Volta and ATDI, he could solo the pants off any of those three, but for mainstream music, those three are good choices

John F. Has nothing compared to Trucks and Mayer. Mayer has got the blues sound down, when Trucks has his own unique style down. I think John F. makes little licks that just SOUND cool, but is nothing up tp people like Mayer, Trucks, and Adam Jones.

Rodney, that would be Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and no, this isn’t about shredding, or, as one AMG reviewer put it, “aimless guitar wankery.” It’s about the music, not self-indulgence.

On another note, is it just me, or have the vast majority of thoughtless comments come from the Frusciante boosters? I’m particularly fond of killermoth’s comment in which he professes ignorance about Derek Trucks, yet expresses the hope that people have heard Frusciante’s solo work before posting here.

To anyone who wants to argue in favor of any other guitar player being better than Derek Trucks, I’ll offer this simple challenge. I’ve already posted a link to the youtube video of Trucks’ solo on “Desdemona.” Go find something of your favorite nominee that even comes close, and post it here.

I’ve been reading through a lot of this and I really hate how everyone is slamming Mayer for being considered for this. There are tons of people on here that have only heard “Wonderland” and “Daughters”, and have not discovered his music yet.

People are saying he is a copy of Clapton, SRV, and so on. Well yeah! On some of his songs sure, you can hear a lot of them, but there is no one in this artcile that is completely original. They’ve all copied something from the greats before them. Mayer has a mix of blues, soul, pop, R&B, Rock, and Jazz in his music. He has his own style people. I have been to 3 concerts now and going to the 4th on Friday in C-Bus. The 1st was nearly all acoustic with some electric guitar moments that shined. The other 2 have been all electic (1 Trio and 1 opening for Sheryl Crow) and I have never been more blown away than when I heard Gravity in Pittsburgh. About a 6 minute solo that took me to another place. Guitar gods do that to people and he is very deserving of this. I like that people are bringing up facts about him that very few know. It’s nice to see some true Mayer fans out there. He has yet to reach his potential and where he wants to go with his music. Eventually, EVERYONE will be talking about Mayer being the best guitarist in recent years. Our generation needs this kind of talent, just as the decades before had Hendrix, Dylan, Clapton, Stones, and so on.

I too believe Joe Bonamassa and Jonny Lang are very good guitarists, but in the case of Joe someone referred to him as being better than Mayer… well if we are wanting people that have their own style, Joe B. is not it. If you listen to his songs they are direct rip offs of SRV and not to mention many of his songs are covers anyway. They are so many songs that start on his albums and I think, isn’t that “empty arms” or “cold shot” and so on. So if you’re looking for origninality you can’t look to him, but if you’re looking for a great blues/rock guitarist then he may be the best. Lang is also a rip off on blues legends.

As for DT and JF, there are great guitar players. DT being better than JF in my opinion, but JF does have that Hendrix type of feeling in his work. When I listen to some of his solos, they really impress me how creative they are.

Also, Mayer’s opening at Crossroads was his little version of Machine Gun, yet it doesnt sound like it at all. So don’t say he rips off other people’s music.

We need to embrace all these artists for what their worth and not slam one of them because he is datng Jessica Simpson or used to be a POP IDOL. Or, in other cases, addicted to drugs and living in squalor.

For those of you, bashing Mayer and the others, I challenge you to discover their music and still hold the same beliefs afterwards. In Mayer’s case, since I know his music so well, try listening to the Any Given Thursday version of “Covered In Rain”, any of the “Come Back to Bed” live versions, or check out his TRY! CD, or just go to a concert and see how much energy and passion he puts into his music. His CD’s do not do him any justice. Average length of a Mayer studio song 4 minutes, in concert it’s about 7 to 8. That extra time goes into being a guitar player and amazing his crowd with what he wants them to take away from the experience.

quote: “this isn’t about shredding, or, as one AMG reviewer put it, “aimless guitar wankery.” It’s about the music, not self-indulgence.”

With all due respect, music is all about self indulgence. I indulge myself everytime I listen to or play any music, but I know what you’re saying. I think it’s great that these guys aren’t wankers about their music: they’re artisans willing and wishing to send their music skyward, and they’re indulged (word of the day) with the opportunity given to them. I think the three of them do define what was once known as being the “top three” before. The top three most influential rock guitarists of all time are known to be Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen and Dimebag Darryl (in that order, I believe) and these guys all seem to fit the bill for “Guitarists making music today” and those that define quality and skill not often purveyed in today’s music, though the skill that SHOULD be shown. Mayer’s performance with Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend at the Grammys showed this (though his vocal seemed a bit weak, though I think he was nervous).

For their respective crafts, I also think that Legend and Bailey Rae are this generations artisans who’re almost unrivaled in popular music.

I think we’re in for a good future in music, if these wonderful musicians start getting the respect and admiration for their skills, craft and songwriting that they deserve.

It’s funny, because i was going to mention Any Given Thursday’s version of covered in rain before wes did. He shows off almost every aspect of his musicianship. There are very few that can play with his hands and a pick as well as mayer. If you can listen/watch that solo and not get chills then you know about putting heart and soul into music. And also that dvd came out in his “wonderland days” He deserves the cover…he can play the blues (slow and heavy) better then anyone around these days.

As far as JF goes…Im not going to put him in front of mayer musical nor vice versa. I am happy to say that i consider both of these guys my biggest influences as far as modern music goes. JF throws out the greatest mix of blues funk and straight up rock i have ever seen. And his solos will rip you apart. and he is also the type of player that ones head would expload if they tried to play rythem next to this guy…it can’t be done. His music sounds liek its coming from another world.

and last but not least…i had never heard of derek trucks before reading this artical and watching the video. but ive never seen a guy play slide liek that.

and i hate to say it but…guys like slash and claudio sanchez are great guitarist (i love Coheed) but they just dont come from the same place as these other guys…i saw JM in OKC not too long ago and had 6th row tickets and i was amazed and jsut couldnt comprehend what i was seeing…and im going to see RHCP in a month or so…but the live stuff i have seen is incredible its something you cant recreate….the way i see it…60s-70s had hendrix 80s was taken by SRV and the 90s and 2000s belong to John Frusciante and John Mayer as far as the greatest guitar players go

Ah, Linc, “wankery” and “self-indulgence” are synonyms. They’re both euphemisms for, um, something else. Yeah.

Why? Have you seen him live? this video is nothing. Saw the chilis twice in europe last summer and at the Pinkpop festival in Holland he was on another planet. I couldn’t believe what i was seeing and hearing. Phenomenal throughout the show and the outro solo he played will stick with me for the rest of my life. Sonic genius. Very original. Don’t bash this guy. He’s lucky to be alive and we’re all lucky he’s alive.

i have an idea. Evrybody stop bad mouthing each other for their views on who is the best. Who cares what they think! You cant stop them from enjoying either JM’s JF’s or DT’s music. People will always have different tastes in music. Who gives a crap, at least these young guys offer a change of pase from the bullshit music i hear these days on the radio. And as a fan who was lucky enough to see some of my heroes in concert when i was younger (SRV, clapton and B.B. King) im glad there are still musicians out there who can inspire others to pick up a guitar.

You challenged me to to watch the “covered in rain” video off of any given thursday, so i did. While i agree with a lot of what you say, i don’t understand how you can say that joe bonnamassa copies SRV and JM doesn’t. Original song in its overall structure and lyrics, but the solo borrows SO heavily on SRV licks that i can’t really appreciate it. He comes up with some original “filler” material which i don’t think was extraordinary, but the coolest shit he plays is most definitely SRV material. Judging by your comments it seems like you should know that. And it seems obvious by now that a lot of people are going to bash me for this and a lot of peolple are going to agree: The song is boring and i wouldn’t play it twice. sorry, no offense. to each his own i guess.

How about this – all 3 of them are awesome …

I am sooo sick of people bashing Mayer! He’s the best there is. And for all of you who are comparing him to SRV, Clapton, and Fruscinate, stop! He’s not them! If you think that he can’t play, then you’ve either never heard him, or just don’t know what talent is. I’ve seen him twice in concert, and he blows me away. When he does “Gravity”, he does like a five-minute solo. It gives me chills and puts me in a daze. He is a genious! He tought himself when he was thirteen and has worked so hard to get where he is today. So stop talking crap about him, and go see him in concert, or buy Try! and Continuum. You’ll see what i’m talking about.

anyone seeing derek trucks with Aquarium Rescue Unit???? I know ill be there.

Caludio Sanchez and Travis Steever of Coheed and Cambria are hardly overlooked…and I am quite sure you can hardly consider their “music” progressive. They rely heavily on skimpy power chord riffs and throw in pinch harmonics to fool you into thinking they are playing something amazing on guitar. If it is pinch harmonics that has you drooling over their abilities to “play” guitar I recommend checking out Zakk Wylde, who in my opinion is a much better guitarist.

John Frusciante by far.As a highly influential modern guitarist, in 2003 John Frusciante ranked 18th in Rolling Stone’s “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

each one of these guys are awesome and are carrying on the guitar hero titles just as each of there mentors did

I agree with this list very much, Mayer is incredibly innovative and original. Listen to “Neon” or just take a handful of the insane chord shapes he uses in songs like “Love soon.” The baddest straight up undisputed SHREDDER of them all missing from the list is Brad Paisley. Country or not, that man murders the guitar. Most of his solos on the Mud on the Tires cd I would almost guarantee Mayer, JF, or DT could cover with the speed and accuracy of Brad.

*Edit*

Most of his solos on the Mud on the Tires cd I would almost guarantee Mayer, JF, or DT could NOT cover with the speed and accuracy of Brad.

you are all very funny, and I’d bet your mortgages, none of you can play a lick.
These are three accomplished guitarist’s and I think nothing more needs to be said.
Gods, no, but neither are alot of the players you all mentioned like Slash(LMFAO)…that guy is a complete joke.

In his time Jerry Garcia would outplay them all. End of discussion. Show me a musician willing to do what this man did as far as experimentation and chances in front of live crowds. Nothing but sellouts playing what they are payed to play.

Im going with dereck trucks. He and JF are easily the most original (love JM too but i hear too much from SRV and clapton in his recent blues material in Try, Continuum and at a recent concert). And dont worry john mayer fans i understand he has a different style to SRV and EC and that JF and DT have also taken licks from other artists (i know how defencive you have been of him in recent comments) But i grew up with SRV and clapton and have taken a liking to Trucks who offers me something new at least, might not be the case for other fans. Everyone seriously do yourselves a favour and go see dereck play. I saw him at a recent clapton concert and i had never heard of him befor. And as much as it hurts me to say this, he upstaged clapton on a few numbers…ouch

It is unfortunate that many of the people commenting here are unfamiliar with any of the three artists. Music appeals to people in different ways, but you can’t judge an artist if you know only a narrow perspective of their work. To judge John Frusciante only on the Chili Peppers work (which itself is amazing) is doing him a great disservice as an artist; his solo work is simply stunning.

christmas-party-cheesecake-jellybean-BOOM! lol
jm fans u know what im talking bout.
seein him in concert tonight, cant wait!

Frusciante is great, I’m glad he came back to the RHCP, Complements Flea’s bass playing better than previous guitarists. As the dude posted previously any doubters need to check out the Live at Slane Castle DVD. As with John Mayer I bought Room for Squares, thought the album was good however got tired of hearing the singles all the time (radio, supermarket etc). I have only recently purchased his back catalogue and I must admit Heavier Things has some tasty guitar playing on it. Unfortunately have not heard any Derek Trucks. Will now though. Anyone who has not witnessed/heard Eric Johnson needs to check out his Austin City Limits performance. Heres why:
Tone: Genius
Rythm: Genius
Lead: Genius
Underated favourites also include Lyndsey Buckingham, Nils Lofgren.

The problem with these lists is that no one is ever happy. I think we’ve got to take the “Guitar Gods” label with a grain of salt. There are countless hundreds – perhaps thousands – of guitar players on this planet who possess technical prowess that will flatly render the rest of us mere mortals speechless. I’m a guitar player; I’ve been playing for close to 30 years now. YouTube has shattered any delusions I once had that I was any good at this. (And I’m really not that bad.)

What I think has gotten lost in all of these comments is that what each one of these three guys does – each in his own way – is take the guitar player’s torch and bring it along with him. Before the first music was ever laid down on any recording medium there were people playing the guitar. They learned from each other, stole licks, traded secret techniques and came up with new ones. It’s been going on for countless generations now. These three merely represent a snapshot in time of what some of the more accompished players are doing today. Are there guitarists out there today who can play faster than these guys? Sure. Players who are technically more adept? Of course. But that’s not what it’s all about, is it? Each of these three is carrying a torch that bears the flame of what has come before. Each plays a different style, so comparison is essentially meaningless. All three are good, but each in a different way. The one thing they each have in common however, and this is important, is LEGIONS of fans. They are famous, and they are incredibly, incredibly lucky to be famous. But it is by virtue of their fame that they bear a significant burden, and hopefully each shoulders his burden admirably in the face of the legacy now thrown upon him. Their burden: carry the torch as long as possible, add tinder to the fire, and then pass the torch on.

What I love most about each of these players is that I can hear in the way they play, the notes they play, the tones they coax from their instruments – indeed their choice of instruments – I can hear where they are coming from, and the players from whom they received their torch.

All I want to say is if you haven’t seen JM in concert yet you need to. He is insane. And people saying he tries to copy SRV, if you don’t know anything about SRV it’s that he is his idol so yea he probably does, but is that such a bad thing? Was SRV not one of the best guitarrists to ever live? And those of you who say JM doesn’t have speed, ur wrong. I have pirated copies of every performance he’s ever played and he shreds on all of the SRV and Hendrix covers he plays.

Doyle Bramhall II is the best guitarist out there. He has played lead for Clapton for a number of years and also Roger Waters. He has a few solo albums that are awesome and his live shows are unreal. I like JM and DT, but put Doyle next to them and they look like school kids.

I never saw thw article from ‘03, but I will say this…there are players outside of the U.S. that are unheard of. One of my favorites is Masayoshi Takanaka from Japan. He favors latin rhythms but can play any style. The first time I heard “Samba Pati”, I didn’t know it belonged to Santana(they’ve played together also). Takanakas’ version was cleaner and more melodic than the original(and he can play faster too).
Takanaka has an album called “Rainbow Goblins” which is basically a musical story of origins and demise. Amazing stuff.

With the exception of Trucks, these are poor choices. Is there a single kid out there picking up the guitar because of Mayer or Frusciante? Forget it. And is that not the best gauge of a guitarist’s influence / importance?
Mayer? C’mon. Ridiculous.

for all those people saying mayer just copies clapton and SRV. they just copy other blues greats, clapton will tell you himself that he is famous for doing the same thing as bb king. and mayer has definitely developed his own style different from clapton and SRV, not as much blues influence

guitar playing doesnt have to be all about chops. I’m more into the actuall sound of it and creating and atomosphere with the guitar. POLYDREAM does a great job of that. http://www.polydreammusic.com

OK, love these work diversions …
can’t resist — to whoever commented on Jerry Garcia : a shakedown to you.
BUT, i am a die-hard Mayer fan! My husband thinks he’s a “candy-ass” but HIS best friend actually got me hooked. I saw Jm as a kid, playing bars in chicago (during MY college days in madison, WI). Ok, the guy is COOLer than school. He can play like noboday I myself have experienced (except, maybe jerry? But my brother was actually more the Dead fan that I was…)
I think MAYEr is incredible. And, the gus is super-smart. He balances
marketing strategy (gotta love it( with his true musical genius (i know a little about both) !!! One more critical note here — someone else, very eloquently, broke these three guys down to ice-skating terms: i.e., technically & artistically. I BELIEVE THIS IS REALLY KEY here! The thing to note about Mayer — is that he is an emotional soul … somehow, he speaks to me (a very emotional person) … and HIS playing goes far beyond technicality in skill. (I’m not up on either of the other two guys — my hubby Rob likes RHCP, but he doesn’t know JF’s solo stuff, so ??) …BUT, will say — John Mayer speaks to emotions and souls. And to me, that’s what music does — it takes you to a higher ground (umm, winwood was it?) and lifts you — JM does it for me. I LOVE him. That’s all i wanted to say …
(Awsome in mad-town, by the by; THE best Valentine’s gift ever — 6th row AND i caught JM’s guitar pick).
Thanks! xo

John Mayer rocks. I saw him in concert last week and he is an extremely talented guitarist! It’s about time he made the cover of Rolling Stone even if he is having to share it!

john mayer is the least original. As many of you have said, he takes all of his riffs from clapton and other great guitarists. Frusciante and Trucks at leas have originality and can express themselves in their music. mayer is not bad he is just not original.

I don’t understand how some of you could call john mayer crap…or even mediocre…what I think that is called is just being close minded…if you have ever actually taken the time to listen to more than just his studio albums you would understand why he is being regarded as one of the new guitar gods…just being a great player…which in my opinion mayer is one of the best…isn’t all that goes into being great…most of you talk about all these practically unknown guitarists in the underground of music and ask why they aren’t on the list…you can’t be one of the best if people don’t actually get to hear your music…actually being able to connect to larger audience goes into the decision of who is “the best”. john mayer has more talent than the other two and is one of the biggest selling artists currently, while bringing the genre of blues to a whole new generation of kids…and all of that combined is why he is the best.

No Kids being inspired by John Mayer?
Thats not true at all!
I’m 15 years old, I started playing guitar a year ago after hearing JM’s music,
Got his signature strat and everything.

Great to see that the “Guitar Gods” cover story is getting people talking and sharing opinions. Check out ALL of the guitarist in the article, as 20 excellent musicians are highlighted. I believe the article is about the “new” guitar gods who are under 40. JM, JF and DT are all deserving. The value is in the music. I try to listen to each guitarist’s voice as they speak in his/her own tone / feeling. I look forward to the music all 20 guitarists create over the coming years. Other young guitarists not listed in the article who have great skills are; Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Banamssa. I saw the North Mississippi All-Stars’ guitarist, Luther Dickinson, backing up John Hiatt last summer at the local Blues Festival and he was awesome.

Just want to say there have been some really one sided arguements or comments from SOME JM fanatics who i believe have never purchased a SRV, Clapton, Guy, King (s), Cray cd, dvd or concert ticket befor. Now im not saying this applies to everyone but i get the feeling from reading these comments that these JM fans understand who these great players are but dont get how close JM comes to improvising in these guys style. AND YES (to all fans who may think i have no idea what JM is capable of) I HAVE BEEN TO A JM CONCERT BEFORE, I DO OWN HIS RECENT CD’S AND I HAVE YOUTUBED THE CRAP OUT OF HIM TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH HIS MUSIC AND LIVE PERFORMANCES. But come on guys put your love affair of JM aside for 2 seconds and see how close he is to hacking others styles. And yes I know clapton,srv etc have done the same with their heroes but they tweaked their playing in such a way that what you hear now is their own sound. I mean it is possible, look at Trucks he has it down pat. Now i wont call myself an expert but i have been playing guitar for 25 years now and i have seen countless SRV hacks playing in local clubs and pubs who are just as good and better than JM. I dont see them in the top 3. And for those would reply to that saying ‘but yeah JM has made his way with great songs (which is true)’ THIS CONTEST IS ABOUT PLAYING THE GUITAR

I have had the privelage of seeing all 3 play live. Mayer once in Birmingham and twice in London. I ve seen the peppers a few times and saw Dereck Trucks play with EC earlier last year. I am a huge mayer fan, I heard Neon on the radio just after Room For Squares was released in 2001 and bought the album the day it was out in the UK. Since Ive bought everything he has released. I think the comments about Mayer not being deserving of the title are c**p. He is a fantastic player. As some people have pointed out his playing is heavily influenced but he does definatley have is own sound. Mayer is good for guitar playing generally. The person who said that JM or JF had never inspired anyone to pick up a guitar is quite simply wrong. I would imagine that they are the two biggest reasons why kids want to play.

JF is so innovative that he definatley deserves to be there. Forget about all this talk of flea making the RHCP sound its JF s guitar work. Am I the only person that thinks that flea lets the band down? (14 year old bass players dont answer that)

I think the people saying that JF doesnt deserve to be there are bedroom players. Guys concerned with how many notes they can play a second not how the aesthetic of the whole thing sounds. Thew sort of players with amps with effects built in and spikey looking guitars made from 2 yards of cheap german ply wood.

When I saw DT with EC I was absoloutley amazed. He was brilliant. I’d heard his name banded round before but had never heard him play. Clapton had Trucks and Bramhall with him in his road band. Clapton played about 4 solo’s all evening, Bramhall had 2 and Trucks must have played 15. The reason, he was so damn good no one fancied it. Its hard to convey in words how good he was. There were people either side of me old and young talking about him. ‘How does he make that sound’ etc etc and these werent guitar players just members of the public. He’s not too dis similar to Robert Randolph who plays 13 string pedasteel. DT definatley deserves to be there.

All in all I thought they were three good choices. Each with their own niche.

JM is an amazing player. people never want to give him the credit he deserves. and if you claim: “i have seen countless SRV hacks playing in local clubs and pubs who are just as good and better than JM.” than you haven’t seen what he is able to do. he is extremely talented.

I have seen all of these performers live and they are all exceptional along with the other 22 that were picked. All i want to say is that of course Mayer is going to strike a resemblence to Clapton, Guy , and SRV BECAUSE they are all blues guitar players. Also Clapton took off in the 1960’s, when he did things with the electric guitar that were revolutionary. Mayer made his mark in 2001, 40 years after clapton, 40 years of blues guitar playing later. Of course they are going to sound alike, they play the same style. Are you going to call Trucks a carbon copy unoriginal Duane Allman. I do not think so. I think that Rollingstones music writers probably know a little more about these picks than “we” the genral public do, so let that speak for itself

I know this isn’t an arcticle about the Peppers but I just have to add my two cents. Not to take any credit away from Fruciante, but if you think Flea is bringing the sound of RHCP down then you haven’t heard the band before say, Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik.
But to add to Fruciante’s playing, I’ve got to say that I am much more of a fan of his creative riffs and slow solos than his fast solos. Doing a bunch of fast alternate picking and hammer-ons with the wah half closed is not that impressive. It just makes a bunch of cool fuzz.

Not to diss the other players, because I respect them all (yes, even JM) but Derek Trucks is definately the best player on this list. He really has new things to say with the guitar because of the mixture of blues/jazz/indian classical influance. Love his eclectic DTB stuff. When I saw Clapton, he could actually stand next to the original guitar god and make you forget who you came to see. He makes the classic tunes sound new again. Check out his solo on Desdemona from Allman Bros Live at the Beacon DVD or CD. Awesome. I hope Clapton puts out a DVD from this tour. One guy that is missing is Joe Bonamassa… mostly Blues/blues rock, but check him out if he comes to your town. Cop his song So Many Roads… his playing on it is as good as any of the Gods, new or otherwise!

“i have seen countless SRV hacks playing in local clubs and pubs who are just as good and better than JM.” than you haven’t seen what he is able to do. he is extremely talented. Yeah nice one brandon but i have seen john mayer perform last year, i do own his cd’s and i have seen many covered live performances on tv. I still stand by my claim

Im a huge bloody JM fan and an even bigger SRV fan. I own pretty much every single JM cd, dvd and have been to 3 concerts already with a 4th concert comming up this march. Im a huge fan of all his idols as well and have thus listened to his appearances with BB King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, John Schoffield etc. I have even had the pleasure of seeing clapton and guy in concert. I guess when i heard that JM was an SRV fan himself i wanted to see how influenced he was by the late great blues man. I have grown up with SRV’s music and was influenced to pick up the guitar and play his stuff abour 15 years ago. As much as i love what john mayer does, his licks are essentially SRV material (including others but mainly SRV). Go compare the licks yourselfs people. On paper and what i hear from johns amps (which have traditionally consisted of Vibroverb, Vibroking and Super Reverb Fender tube amps which is essentially what SRV used to achieve his raw texas blues sound) are stock SRV blues licks. I think nowadays john has caught on to the fact that he was sounding a little too similar to SRV (he often recieved slack from those who claimed there are too many SRV guitarists in the world) and has since changed his amp set up and has even diverted away from his signature Fender Strat which was basically a carbon copy of the SRV strat with a few alterations. I know fans have tried to defend him and say he is original but i think he has a little way to go befor fine tuning his own sound. And i say that as a john mayer and blues fanatic. I love what john is doing and how he is keeping the spirit of the blues alive but i think in the case of this guitar ‘god’ poll Dereck Trucks is the most outstanding, not to take anything away from JF too who i also respect. However give john a few years and i believe his playing will continue to grow (which is scary because he is already a freak) and mature into something most highly respected

There was a guy going around a few years ago called Ian Moore. He should have been huge. Awesome blues player with an excellent singing voice. Unfortunately he’s fallen off the radar if he was ever on it. I have not seen this issue, living oversea’s. I hope Rodrigo Y Gabriela made the list. They offer Percussive rythm guitar leaving my suspended in disbelief, with excellent lead lines played on nylon string guitars. I listen to alot of music which is guitar based and nothing has made my head turn like this record. Definately guitar gods the pair of them.

JM and DT are amaizing they both bring there guitars to life in two different ways. They are not there to impress you with there “chops.” They each speak through there guitars with passion for not just the instrument but for music itself that they are creating.

personally, I believe these posted comments regarding the skills of John Frusciante, John Mayer and Derek Trucks are ridiculous. Firstly, Frusciante has been around a while, obviosuly, and how can you people comment on his ability? Its ridiculous how you people can sit here and tear apart someones career, who are you? also, derek trucks in an unreal guitar player, and for anyone who plays guitar ( if you people actually do, then you would know how difficult it is to play slide. all hes tryin to do is bring back some flavour and soul into modern music. afterall with pieces of crap bands ranging from Nickelback to Linkin Park or whoever else is stinking up the stage these days,its a good change of pace. ohh and by the way, Rush has a new album comin out May 1st, one of the best bands ever and guess what THEIR CANADIAN BABY!

Dear Anthony:

First of all it may be rediculous to “sit here and tear apart some ones career” but if you are going to claim that it is rediculous then dont do it. Im not saying that I like lincoln park or nickleback (far from it) but if your telling us not to tear apart Frusciante or Trucks because its there career then why is it ok to tear apart bands that “stink up the stage” now a days? its there career as well isnt it?

well anyways I thuroughly enjoy Trucks and Mayer. I have not heard Frusciante yet so I dont really care about him at the moment but Trucks is my hero and Mayer is just a great guitarist. I believe they both do it for the love of there instrument and the love of the music.

I don’t know why the youtube links aren’t working.

So go to youtube and type:

“Blood Sugar Sex Magik Live in Portland”. The solos toward the end of the song are amazing – and all improvised on the spot.

well put phil. without bashing mayer, you say it like i would have said, he borrows too much from SRV. When i hear him play solos, i think, that’s SRV material. His originality is in his voice, not his guitar. Maybe there will be a day when i hear JM play and say “hey, that’s mayer” but we’ll have to wait and see.

Ps…..however I should definitely add that Derek Trucks should be in there. Great player. J. Frusciante has moments. The Mayer thing I dont get at all personally.

no one here including myself has the right to bash anyone of these guitarists. first off if any one of you can play a fraction of how well these guys can you would be on the cover of rolling stone. ive seen JM do absolutely astounding things on the guitar and for anyone who thinks he sucks i would very much like to see the two of you cut heads chances are you cant even play the guitar. JF and DT are both abslutely great players in their field also.

you smell and your comment is pathetic

FRusciante es dios..

the best

where the hell is the guitar gods video??????

i would like to congradulate “dear kl” oh his obviously well thought out and well structured argument, touche my friend you really got me there.

All 3 of these guys are out of their tree. Amazing players, however, do they really stand alone as Gods? Rolling Stone makes no mention of a slew of young prodigies because of the music genres that they are in. How can you have an issue about “new guitar gods” and not mention Mark Morton/Willie Adler of Lamb of God, Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, Adam D./Joel Stroetzel of Killswitch Engage, Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, HERMAN LI and Sam Totman of Dragonforce, Mick Thompson and Jim Root of Slipknot, Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, BUCKETHEAD?? -These are all prodigally gifted players, yet RS overlooks anything that isn’t “POP”. Don’t get me wrong, John Mayer is unbelievable, so are Trucks and Frusciante, they are all among my favorites, but you should give credit where credit is due as well. Even if it’s a shredder/metal player. Heaven forbid Rolling Stone ever acknowledges anyone who is judged solely on playing and not playing and record sales.

I’m not saying that John Mayer is a bad guitarist, but this arcticle/video makes him out to be the best of the three. In the list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time , John Frusciante is #28, Derek Trucks is #81 I think, and John Mayer isn’t even on the list. Derek and John are way better than him anyways.

haha thats funny because i was going to say that about your first comment. ‘first off if any one of you can play a fraction of how well these guys can you would be on the cover of rolling stone’. Thats wierd because i have seen much better players than JM and they dont seem to be on the cover. Very strange that one kl
ps you smell

well, i have always been a fan of the chili peppers and alman brothers, but in the past two years i have become a huge mayer fan. in my opinion mayer is the most musically talented because he writes his own lyircs, rhythm, lead, etc.. The other two are great but as an overall musiciain mayer blows them out of the water. If you have ever watched him solo then you know he defintely deserves to be in the center of the cover

Derek Trucks is by far the most talented of the three. The guy’s a fuckin’ prodigy.

Derek Trucks is by far the most talented of the three. The guy’s a prodigy.

“If you have ever watched him (John Mayer) solo then you know he defintely deserves to be in the center of the cover”

I’ve watched the live clips, we all know, he can play blues (which is fine), blah blah…I don’t think he deserves to be in the center of the cover. He is a good guitar player, don’t get me wrong, but to put him dead center, with Trucks and Frusciante upside down, that’s just bloody insulting.

Mayer is good, but Stevie Ray Vaughn mimes are a dime a dozen. But Duane Alman clones dont come everyday. I think these guys ALL should be up there, it is about time they are acknowledged.. but trucks should be in the middle, i mean, he schools mayer!

I cant pass this up “Keep on truckin mayer!”

jack white no contest ..no one compares to him in this day an age and the guy hasnt made a bad album yet

I think you can’t even begin to apreciate John Mayer without seeing him live. He is absolutely brilliant! Everyone should see him in concert.

I think the ones who say that Frusciante doesn’t deserve to be there, haven’t seen him perform live. Go to RHCP concert first, and then comment! And by the way, he was ranked 18th (not 28th) on the list of greatest guitar players. The total list is here – http://www.rollingstone.com/ne ws/story/5937559/the_100_great est_guitarists_of_all_time …. Don’t judge him if you know nothing about him! See/hear them all live in concert and then judge and compare!

They Might Be Giants for President!!!!!

ANYBODY EVER HERD OF JIMMY HERRING THE BEST GUITAR PLAYER IN THE WORLD AND THE MAN GETS NO RECOGNITION…ARU, ALLMAN BROS., THE DEAD, PHIL AND FRIENDS, THE CODETALKERS, AND THE GODS THAT ARE WIDESPREAD PANIC….NEED I SAY MORE….OH YEAH….I LIKE WHAT IM HERRING!!!

Did anyone else listen to them and almost cream your pants. Love it. Can’t wait for John to visit Buffalo

Surprised that STEVE KIMOCK–guitar monk and high priest of tone has not been acknowledged here. He is fundamentally superior than any guitarist in RS and wholistically more sound. He has developed some huge innovations in tone that are used by both Mayer and Trucks…Two Rock Amps and Tone Tubby speakers. He also has served as elder and teacher to Trucks in the jam band scene. Jerry Garcia called him is favorite lesser known guitarist and Hornsby personally told me he is the greatest alive…I know Frusciante and Trucks personally and neither of them can even compare to Kimock in his mastery of the instrument on every level…

JM could school Hendrix, King, and SRV. Anyday.

So.

Shut up.

Fool.

STOP HATING GUYS!!! ALL THESE GUYS ARE FUCKING AMAZING AND ID BET MY BROKE ASS BANK ACCOUNT THEY’RE BETTER THAN YOU!!! SO ha! SERIOUSLY THOUGH, STOP TALKING LIKE YOU CAN PLAY WITH THEM, CAUSE YOU CANT! IF YOU COULD, YOU’D BE ON THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE!!!!!!!!!!

OH AND WHOEVER POSTED ABOUT JIMMY HERRING HE DOES KICK SOME SERIOUS ASS, ESPECIALLY HIS ALBUM “PROJECT Z” U SHOULD CHECK THAT OUT IF U ALREADY HAVENT

Yo Ryan!!!

That is just disrespectfull. Hendrix, SRV and King were already setting standards for our modern guitarplayers before John Mayer ever filled his first diper!!! And they had to do it without the examples that they’ve become for modern players. Don’t ever tell anyone who acknowledges that to shut up or be a fool yourself!

shut your mouth your arragonat mayer fan. You obviously dont know what good guitar playing is. Im sick of all these mayer fanatics who think they know it all and that john mayer is so freaking orriginal. Get your own voice on the guitar JM because hey i hear trucks and JF doing it

hahahahahahahaha

i think mayer is a fantastic player, and i do think that he deserves to be the new guitar god. he is not SRV, and he’s definitely not as original as Hendrix or King (i just said that before because i think its funny how pissed off people get), but i do think that what he’s doing as a player right now requires some recognition.

he knows that he steals style from people, and he’s glad to admit it (just watch his interviews). but ultimately he can hold his own and even HE gets respect from the people that you say he steals from (clapton, SRV’s band, and even BB King himself), and im pretty sure they know a little bit about guitar playing.

frusciante and trucks are AMAZING players as well.

have a good day.

continue to fight about a subject that will never really be resolved.

John Fruciante is the best at of all of these guys. I think he is the best guitarist ever. If you dont believe me look at his solos in his live stuff they are amazing. I really dont see what is so great about john mayer. and derek trucks is much better then john mayer. but fruciante is the best!!

Are you Freakin Stoned or what ??

John Mayer totally deserves his place on this cover. He is without a doubt a “Guitar God”. Anyway who thinks otherwise has never seen him live. He was just in Syracuse, NY on 2/27/07 and totally rocked it !! I will admit to being a Mayer fan from the beginning, but seeing him live -is like hitting it out of the park !!

He is a 30 yr old Musical Genius. He’s the total package — He masters the guitar, write the most beautifully thought provoking lyrics of anyone his age and has a beautiful voice.

Ok, so what if he makes funny faces when he sings (I dig it).

How many Grammy’s do all you haters have ??

Give credit where credit is due –and yes Trucks and Franchetti deserve it too.

Never hear of Frusciante, know Trucks well have enjoyed him for years….but Mayer rocks……….

I am not a John M fan mysef but he is the best ou of the three and if any othr people deny that then you really must not know to much about the guitar. Personaly I go for the Peppers.

I know plenty about the guitar. Im possibly one of the few who have commented to have seen SRV play live not to mention clapton and buddy guy. Dont fool yourself into thinking mayer is the greatest of the 3. A great guitar player must be able to take from his idols and make his own sound on the guitar but john mayer struggles to do this even after his recent amp and stage set up change. Ive seen him play live as well as dereck trucks and i must say you are a fool to think mayer could match him on stage. I think your just another one of these mayer fans who have only allowed yourself to see one good guitarist (that being jm) and shut down the thought of others being just as good.

Frusciante mos def has his place in this order of “gods”. Unique sound, style and soul brother. His work on Blood Sugar Sex Magic is testament to that. It set him in stone. “You can’t get the groove, if you ain’t got the pocket”.

FUCK YOU ALL!!!!!!!

ALL OF THESE GUYS ARE AWEOSOME GUITAR PLAYERS AND YOU PROBLY SUCK SO STOP PUTTING THESE GUYS DOWN THEY WILL SCHOOL YOU ANYDAY
BY THE WAY I AM HUGE FANS OF FRUSCIANTE AND MAYER AND I KNOW THAT THEY ARE BOTH GREAT GUITARISTS. THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN TYPE OF STYLE ALTHOUGH EVERYBODY SEEMS TO THINK THAT MAYER IS A SRV RIPOFF. YOU KNOW WHAT HE WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A LITTLE CHILD IF YOU EVER PLAYED WITH HIM SO STOP PUTTING HIM DOWN. LIKE SOMEBODY ALREADY SAID IF U WERE AS GOOD AS U THINK U ARE AND BETTER THAN THESE THREE, YOU WOULD BE ON THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE. UNTIL THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!!!

…Is the greatest out of these players.
Mayer plays basically plays only blues. If you do not believe me, go to a Chili Peppers concert and you will see him busking an amazing improvisational solo out of nowhere.

Why is John Mayer in the center? Because he’s good looking and more popular. He sells.
But why is he considered a new guitar god???
Now that I don’t understand.
Whoever was in charge of this feature idea, john mayer IS NOT a guitar god. Frusciante is simply too good to be compared to John mayer.

guitar god john mayer????!? what?
and he get’s the center? did they make a mistake on the cover between the two johns? did someone think john mayer was actually john frusciante what the hell?
frusciante is by far more talented.

This whole discussion is repetitive but I thought I’d give my two cents. Frusciante is overrated. His solos seem uninspired to me and he generally holds his bend/vibratos until it starts to irritate me (watch live at slane). His rhythm work for the Chili Peppers, however, is beautiful. Trucks is easily the best. I don’t understand how anyone could dispute that. He plays in the damn Allman Brothers Band and does a hell of a job filling DUANE ALLMAN’S shoes (which is impossible but he comes close). John Mayer is good but when held up to true blues guitar God’s (Clapton, SRV, don’t even try to compare him to Hendrix) he pales in comparison. I like how he brought blues to pop mmusic though. That being said, I still like Jack White. Watch Death Letter on youtube. It might change your opinion of the Stripes

Ok, John Mayer and Frusciante are both good, but neither one of them hold a candle musically to Derek Trucks. Do some research, and listen to the Derek Trucks Band. He is far more studied and technically capable than either of the other ones. He may not be the more popular one, and I am not saying that you should think he is the best, but on a musical level, he KILLS Mayer and Frusciante, there is no disputing this.

I too have seen all those artists you mentioned above, and just this week saw Trucks perform w/Clapton (as well as Doyle Bramhall II, who is far more overlooked and probably should have been on the cover as opposed to frusciante, but whatever), and you’re right there’s no comparison, specifically because Trucks plays slide and is undisputedly the best at what he does, but give John Mayer credit. Clapton doesn’t invite just anyone to play on stage with him, Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Jimmy Vaughn at Crossroads…

He is hot, though…

In my eyes, John Mayer is someone who could potentially be making real music, for real people, music that I would enjoy and not be ashamed to tell people I listen to, but, he chooses not to. He knows where the money is, where the so-called ‘life’ is. He knows what side his artistic bread is buttered on, for sure. And yeah, yeah, Clapton jams with him, Buddy Guy, and whoever the hell else, it doesn’t matter. He chooses to be a little bitch, and that’s his thing. I can respect his musicianship, but I just can’t respect him as an artist.

…aaaand, that’s my two cents. Go on arguing the better guitar players, it’s fun to read the bickering.

I agree that Frusciante is the best of all three of these, though maybe not for the reasons many have stated. Someone mentioned Trucks has the most technical ability of these three and is therefore the most musically talented. That is nonsense. Music is just as much about compositional sense and intuition as it is about technical skill. Someone like Michael Angelo Batio is very entertaining to watch, but to listen to his stuff repeatedly? No thanks. Sometimes not playing is as important as playing. Sometimes a five-second solo can have more impact than a three-minute solo. Frusciante plays stuff that shouldn’t work, yet somehow does, and he seems to put more importance on serving the songs than on stroking his own ego.

these are three of the best guitar players in the world. i have no doubt. it could be argued otherwise however these three are just to great to comprehend. mayer has this great feel of sorrowful joy and he composes music that can move even the most un-soulful of people to sing-a-long. Derek i have not listened to all that much but will be doing so very soon. i wont talk about him because i havn’t experianced his music.

(continued from last comment)
john is, to me, the same style as hendrix. he is in that same place with the multiple guitars and the way he makes the guitar scream and belt in concert and weep and sing in the studio. the guitar is like not like another arm to him because most people can’t have such precise control over thier arm as he does his guitar.

those 3 are good but they are nothing to HENRY GARZA from los lonely boys he plays straight from his soul just like all the greats did and thats why carlos santana passed the torch to him

john frusciante is god screw everyone else

Let’s just get something straight here.

None of you have expressed where John Frusciante is TRULY being John Frusciante.

The guitarist who plays those oh-so-catchy funk-rock-pop rifts for the Chili Peppers is not John Frusciante. For all intents and purposes, it is John Frusciante’s vision of Hillel Slovak and how Slovak would’ve evolved with the Chili Peppers overtime had he not overdosed. While John Frusciante has limitless boundaries when compared to Slovak, his music is more defined by Chad Smith and Flea than it is by himself when in the Chili Peppers.

Anyone attempting to say Derek Trucks is more technically gifted than Frusciante is barking up the wrong tree… don’t get me wrong, Derek Trucks is a great guitarist who I hold in high regard but he doesn’t have a candle to hold to Frusciante.

John Frusciante, I repeat… is not John Frusciante – Chilli Pepper.

John Frusciante is Ataxia. John Frusciante is his solo projects.

His technique, touch and tone has only ever really been matched by one guitarist in my view – Jimi Hendrix.

I have seen him perform his solo projects live several times and the energy and sheer love in the room for him is amazing and something that MAKES you spiritual, regardless of atheism/skepticism.. He makes you believe there are things greater than our own conscience in the world through his wordplay, music and performance.

Until you’ve seen him perform live, don’t knock his technical ability – he can play any classical guitaring tune you want him to play – however he is not your typical Malmsteen type wanker… he doesn’t play to stroke his own ego – he plays to create an emotion, a mood..

Something that John Mayer and Derek Trucks will never match

Frusciante IS the guitaring God of his time… may he live a long life from here because I promise you, he will only get better with age.

yall are comparing apples to oranges…their styles are different and dont play any of the same music…so quit trying to impress the other people on here and SHUT UP!

When RS does something like this, there’s always going to be a lot of flak from people. I think anyone who has a comment on it should really have done their homework. go pick up some of JM’s bootlegged stuff from b4 he got famous- i’ve been a fan since 2001- he really is an amazing guitar player. Jonny F is an icon and belongs in the top few. Trucks resume speaks for himself as well. These are people that are in extraordinary positions in life and have arrived there from talent- not by chance. I think all of them have my utmost respect as musicians. And to set the record straight- Guys like Clapton and BB King and Buddy Guy don’t need to be playing with guys like JMayer because they’re out of work,or cause girls think he’s cute……they chose him cause they saw something in him- so try not to get too negative about someone that is going out there and making a huge impact on some very influential players- there’s a reason he’s there, even if you can’t find it. thanks.

John Frusciante is at the top of my list and I do believe that everything he has done has come from himself and not as an imitation of other guitar players, inspired by others but he is all his own. Don’t always believe “The Truth”. I agree that he is the best of the whole bunch and he deserves more recognition for his talent.

john frusciante looks lost on the tail end of the video, I really don’t believe he is as good as Derek and John Mayer. Although I do love RHCP, Frusciante appears to really lack some of the refinement in soloing that the other two have, but there all good none the less.

John Mayers guitar playing is totally based on standard licks, one after another. he plays them very musically and everyone thinks ‘oh fuck listen to those dynamics, he is in control’. But his playing is realy shit. Frusciante is the greatest guitar genious of all time and equal to Hendrix.

I love reading critical comments by people who are watching people get their picture taken for the cover of the Rolling Stone.

Interesting.

You can’t compare these three. They play entirely different sorts of music. I’ll give you guys a little lesson in guitar here.

John Mayer -
He’s the normal electric blues man. He’s only 29 and already sharing the stage with the greats (i know everyones already mentioned that). He freakin left Berkely School of Music because he was bored and wasn’t learning anything. He also has AMAZING technique. Listen to Axis Bold as Love (Jimi Hendrix) and you’ll hear the major connection between Hendrix’s style and John’s. He really is amazing. His live show is astounding.

John Frusciante-
Also incredible. He is truly an innovator, unlike the other two. He is doing things that no one has done on the guitar. He is using synth capabilities like no one I’ve ever heard. There were some parts on Stadium Arcadium with over 20 guitar parts at once. He is incredible at making any sound come out of his guitar using whatever necessary, digital or analog. AND he’s a recovering heroin addict, imagine how amazing he’d be if he wasn’t screwed up like that.

Derek Trucks-
He’s the road warrior and the slide man. He’s a different breed of guitar player. To be able to hear the stuff he’s playin and just feel that out is amazing. Touring with the Allman Brothers? That is the ultimate for slide players. He arguably is filling the shoes of Duane Allman and playing things he never played.

All three of these guys are incredible. They will be the ones who are remebered later. People most of you are talkin about like Wyld, Dimebag, Slash, and more, theres tons of guys doin that style, but these three make a guitar truly sing. Its almost a soul connection between them and guitar. Honestly, don’t talk crap about these guys until you’ve watched them play live. It will blow your mind. So again, three entirely different types of guitar playing. Thats why its these three guys. They cannot be compared to each other. Thanks for your time if you read this far. Hopefully I’ve made some sense.

To the idiot who said Frusciante looked lost at the end of the video clip… are you retarded? Frusciante is playing the blues with two guitarists who grew up doing nothing but playing the blues, he was able to keep up with them and jam with them without any real struggles… yet I’m sure if he broke out into some funk on his guitar, the other two wouldn’t have even been able to go anywhere near the same sounds.

From an entirely technical point of view, John Frusciante lost more technique than most guitarists will ever pick up when he had his self imposed exile of seven years from the guitar during his drug filled days… despite losing the majority of his technique and strength in his left hand, he was able to come straight out of rehab, pick up a guitar and lay down some highly impressive tracks on Californication.

The John Frusciante that composed Under the Bridge, Give it Away and Funky Monks had all the technique that either John Mayer or Derek Trucks could ever hope for and he was a 21 yr old kid who spent more time in his room masturbating than anything else.

The John Frusciante who came back and composed Road Trippin, Fortune Faded, By the Way, Scar Tissue, Fortune Faded, Save the Population, Snow, Dani California (or any number of the songs on the latest album) had the touch, tone and emotional feel for a guitar that only Jimi Hendrix had before him.. as his technique and strength grew through his solo work as well as the RHCP/Ataxia work, he’s ascended to a level that I don’t believe any current guitarist could hope to emulate.

Borrowing one of his own lyrics.. “You once saved me, now I’m where you want me to be.. ascending endlessly and I don’t even have to try”

Listen to songs like Under the Bridge, then compare it to Give it Away, then compare it to Snow, then compare it to his solo work in Carvel, Inside a Break, Going Inside or the Past Recedes.. he touches upon and obliterates nearly every single genre (with perhaps the exception of Blues) in his solo and RHCP based projects, be it funk, ballad, acoustic, classical, flamenco, piano rock, synth assisted rock, pop rock, hard rock and folk.

Derek Trucks? John Mayer? Sure, they can cover off blues and pop rock… but what other genres have these guys touched and made it marketable? Frusciante took an unmarketable funk band from Las Angeles and turned them into one of the biggest musical acts of all time.

A huge disappointment in my mind is that Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante never got to collaborate on a project together.

Once again, let me reiterate, I love both Derek Trucks and John Mayer’s work.. they’re sharp, brilliant guitarists who definitely deserve to be ranked amongst some of the top guitarists of today… but for sheer weight of ability and influence on todays musical scene? Frusciante is it.

Are you all actually serious?

While these three guys are perfectly fine artists, bestowing the “god” moniker on them with the likes of a Greg Howe or Steve Vai is… well, laughable.

Is there anyone here that heard UDORA, a brazillian band? Well, I think Gustavo Drummond is better than JM and Derek Trucks together. What’s my point? Who decided the rules? “A is better than B, etc.”… I think that Only matter the music played by the heart. Simple like that.

Don’t bring Steve Vai’s name into this… it’s wankers like him that made Guitar God’s go away for so long.

Kurt Cobain/Billy Corgan/etc all played the way they did because of flashy wanky bitches like Vai who made noise, not music

At least Derek Trucks, John Mayer and John Frusciante make music.

Frusciante goes that step higher than any other living guitarist for mine, Vai? Sorry, the 80’s called, they want their guitarist back

All 3 are great guitar players. However the best would be John Frusciante. Listen to the RHCP since he has been back, listen to his solo work and listen to his live performances. And if that is not enough maybe you should remember that Rolling Stone placed him #18 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. ENOUGH SAID!!

Uhmmmmmmmmmm…nice vid…..great players….but let me say I ABSOLUTELY LOVE John Frusciante’s solos……he’s my hero

Um…. Yea I am pretty sure everyone who reads what the dumb ass had to say about Steve Vai is all a little bit dumber than when they were before.

Steve Vai and Joe Satriani are the two greatest guitar players ever… sorry to kill anyones ideas, but I am being real.

These three people they have on the video are by far the newest of the elite. John Frusciante, John Mayer and the unbelievable Derek Trucks are hands down the best new guitarist… with Jack White close behind them.

If you disagree I really dont care and niether does any of the writers, editors and readers of Rolling Stone. So suck it.

Does anyone else find it depressing that hardly any of the morons on here get that Derek Trucks is out and out the single greatest living guitarist. Never mind new young guitar god. Mayer is good, but he’s better as a singer/songwriter than as a guitarist, and i’m a big fan. I also own every Chili Peppers record, yet still i’m amazed that Frusciante even made it into the top 50. He’s nothing more than a washed up junky who’s just regurgitating re-hashed lick after re-hashed lick, take a good listen and you’ll hear so many of the solos from early chili’s on Stadium Arcadium. The guy doesn’t have an original bone in his body. Derek Trucks is a complete revolutionary and there is no one who even comes close. Also, there are no Derek Trucks knock-offs, the guy is unique. Whereas a lot of the time Mayer sounds like just another blues guitarist, and Frusciante just sounds like Funkadelic or Tower Of Power. Furthermore, having played with both John Mayer and Derek i can safely say the chasm that seperates them is vast beyond measure. Have never played with Frusciante, but frankly i dont think it’d be worth the hassle!

Ok these comments are why the music scene today is in the toilet. No one has a clue anymore of what great music really is. Accepting what they are putting out today is just lowering your bar. First of all Derek Trucks SMOKES seen him live and amazing.

Frusciante can not hold water to most players out there today in the progressive rock world. You want to hear REAL musicians go listen to some of that stuff. IE Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation. i could go on forever. Come on people stop accepting garbage for music and open your mnid and ears and raise your level of musical standards. I am a musician and it sickens me to see these magazines today try to pull it over on us about musicians. turn the radios off put the cds on from the NOT so main stream music and you will find a whole world of INcredible musicians out there that will blow your mind.

lets get back to what music is all about KNOWING HOW To actually play your instrument. Not just make noise.

I like all three. They are all good in their own way but they are not the only ones you know. That is why I hate “Greatest Guitarist” lists because they leave out so many people and also cause so many arguments. So what the hell, I’ll put in my two cents too. Neither of them could hold a candle to Mato Nanji of Indigenous. I think someone else said the same thing. And he named his cat after Mato…cool. Mato may not be in the cover or in the top twenty list (which is totally gay), or not as popular as them but he can still play better.

Q, don’t compare someone to Hendrix! NEVER! No one ever come close. Please don’t do it.

Mayer sounds SRVish and RHCP sounds like nothing. Truck is very good, and is the best of the three.

there seem to be alot of people posting comments here that think they know what playing guitar is about, people who beleive that playing an instrument is about knowing where to put your fingers and how to do it really fast. Let me explain something to you, playing guitar is not about technical prowess it is about connecting with people through the sounds of your instrument, people who say that john frusciante doesn’t deserve to be here are sadly mistaken and have a very warped sense of reality he connects on a very deep and spiritual level on which most people cant even find. john mayer is also very capable of going into this spiritual area of music and come out with greatness along with the pure and powerful soul of derek trucks playing. so for all you complaining about the people featured here, it’s about time you stopped complaining that your favorite isnt as popular as these three, if you were a real fan of music you wouldnt care who made this list, you would be able to simply enjoy the music.

John Mayer is an excellent and innovative singer/songwriter for sure. As a guitarist I think he is very, very good, but not

in nearly the same sphere as Derek Trucks. Derek is quite simply a phemonena – a force of nature. His sheer raw energy focused into a depth of musical artistry is unparalleled.

i think what made clapton srv hendrix guy bb waters etc etc etc guitar ‘gods’ is that they introduced new sounds to the guitar world. I know they took from their heroes but they managed to take from others but make it into their own sound. I admit they were lucky to be around when there was this niche market to introduce electric blues to the world but nonetheless they were innovative. Unfortunately when i listen to john mayers playing i hear the same ol blues licks that are on pretty much every blues cd i own. I dont hate the guy, infact i have his cd’s (including his work with the trio), own a dvd and seeing him play live at the end of march (so to all john mayer fans dont give me this shit that i havnt heard what he is capable of, infact i think its you who need to go out and listen to some old blues material). He just seems to be reguritating these licks to an audience who doesnt seem to know that its been done befor. Its just time for something new and i think trucks is the only one of the 3 offering this.

i dont even know how you all got on the subject of steve vai and joe satriani. the 80s sucked, completely. nothing good happened in that period of time. to the guy who said that trucks music is boring, i don’t even know why you’re on a computer. you should be workin out or drivin around in your trans am while blaring a pop station, like the others of your kind. frusciante is a great player but isnt even good enough to lick hendrix’s ball sweat off a public bathroom floor.

and to the guy who said that trucks isn’t versatile in his style and that he only plays blues, did you read the article where he talks about playing the 25-string sarrod? learning to play indian music isnt versatile enough for you? i believe that opens up possibilities for many styles.

good call by the guy below this comment. Some of you people are a joke

As a person who has been playing guitar for a while, and lives and breathes all the old school amazing guitarists, I personally love John Frusciante. I have LOTS of respect for Trucks and for Mayer. I do think Trucks is better then Mayer because of his skill with the slide, and think Mayer does kind of sound a bit boring at times and generic. That being said, After growing up on, and learning from artists such as Hendrix, and BB King, i can safely say that John Frusciante is coming to a level that only few guitarists before him share. For a long time i was one of those people who when someone said Frusciante is the next Hendrix i would say fuck that, you are an idiot go listen to Hendrix and then tell me that, until someone said go listen to Frusciante and tell me he is not. For the past 2 yrs i have been listening to all John Frusciante’s solo and RHCP work and can safely say that John is definitely deserving of the GOD title. John F excels in a live setting and has a passion for music that VERY few guitarists can share. I understand we all have our own opinions, but sometimes there are things that are more clear then others, and this being one, i strongly urge you guys to check out some John Frusciante work for those who are not familiar with it. The guitar saved John’s life, and when its all said and done will be a top 10 guitarist of all time. Thanks for reading!

And yes in this video i thought John F was showing his humility, and is definitely not as skilled in this type of music as the others, but as you can see can hold his own. I think Trucks blew the others away in this video, which means nothing at all, but he showed some good moves.

You may agree or disagree. I don’t really care. John Frusciante is my GUITAR GOD!

It’s a shame there has been such a musical void for the past 15 years that what would have been admirable guitar skills at best now passes for “God” status. Because the radio has been pumping talentless garbage out so long, any whiff of real musicianship strikes the new generation as something revolutionary. Don’t get me wrong I think Mayer and Trucks deserve their props. It’s just that the frame of reference is way off, and has been for years. As far as the RHCP guy, he is a hack. Someone who rightly deserved to be on the cover is Doyle Bramhall II. That guy is a real in the trenches, bad-ass musician. Do yourself all a huge favor and pull up the documentary “Before the Music Dies” and read the overview. You will see why the bar is so low in music tody, and why while these players are great, may be being subconsciously overhyped becuase their music is ringing through a market of slickly produced crap.

Who’s the best?

The answer is completely depending on who you’re looking at. The way I see it, these guys are the best at what they do. Frusciante is currently the best funk/rock guitarist. Mayer seems to appeal to more pop-oriented girls, but nonetheless he is great. Trucks, again, is best at what he does.

The problem in accepting this is the current MTV culture, and mostly YouTube culture (meaning people who comment like: “OMG WTF!? LIKE MY IDOL IS THE BEST AND HE PWNS EVERYONE ELSE WHOEVER DISAGREES IS GAY!!!!!!!!!!1!!1!”) can’t respect the fact that everyone is different.

Just my two cents.

I personally don’t like these “Guitar God” lists because they cause so many arguments and are either severely ridiculed or highly praised. Everyone has their favorites and their preferences. I believe that these 3 guys are up there because they are making music that connects with people, music that has soul. They are also on the cover because everybody knows who they are. This gives them a nice advantage over some shmuck with just as much talent and soul who plays for pennies.
All I am saying is that these three guitarists are making music that people can grab hold to and feel. Their talent for entertaining people is made possible by the way that people interpret their music. Everyone has a different way of interpreting music and I really don’t think that these lists tell us anything. It depends on what you feel connects with you the best whatever that may be!

Alright, here’s my opinion. None of these guys will be able to compete with the real “Guitar Gods” like Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Young, Allman…you know, that classics…BUT! As of right now, they are the very best at what they do. Frusciante…eh, he’s my least favorite of the three…but he is good, there is no denying that. John Mayer, though he certainly has had a lot of hype, is a beast on the guitar…there is absolutely no denying that. As far as style goes, Derek Trucks is my favorite.

Well, there’s my humble opinion. The truth is, no one will ever be able to determine who the best guitar players are, because no one will ever agree.

There is a reason why Al Schneider and Chuck Garvey are in the top 20. Both are in the same band… moe. And they simlpy play the hell out of the guitar.

Chad, I agree with you 100% regarding DBII. He definitely deserves to be in the top 10 on the list, he’d be in my top 5. They guy can flat out jam…..and also plays an amazing slide, not as good as DTrucks, but not far behind.

John Mayer – Blues (Pop girls like him)

Trucks – Blues (Older redneck/ blues folk like him)

John Frusciante – Funk/Rock (Rockers like him)

Depends who you are.. I personally see Frusciante and Hendrix as my Guitar Gods. If anyone says I can’t put John F and Hendrix backtoback, blow me.

John is the best guitar player of them.. I think.. he have such a strong personality and he is so loveable

i can tell that most of the people posting here didnt read the article that the video is promoting. in it it reads that none of these is better than the other, they all have their own styles, and it is for that reason that there are three featured, with about twenty more mentioned, instead of just one. The facts are these: John f and derek trucks have been around the block a while. they know their sounds and are pretty much established as the greats of the day. john mayer on the other hand is just starting to move out of his pop set and he’s experimenting with all types of music, but especially blues. keep in mind that he grew up on srv and buddy guy so the reason that all his blues licks sound unorigional is because he just beggining to explore this new setting. if you listen to his newest stuff, you can tell he is moving into his own category and his own style and there will be a day when john mayer will be as recognizable as frusciante and trucks. I no this post sounds biased, but i happen to be a john mayer fan and i appreciate that the guy can write a great song, not just play a good solo.

Suckers!
I will not take any of this shit! You guys saying; “John Frusciante, well i guess he is allright,but he gets blown away by the two others”, you seriously dont know what youre talkin about. John Frusciante IS a guitargod. As for his skills as a musician go listen profoundly and you know that he is a godlike musician. I have never seen a musician even near the level of passion John transports into his music. He is probably not the fastest guitarist in the world, but we all know that doesnt mean anything. Joe satriani is the perfect example of that. its all about the passion. If john made an opera album i would still love it. The feel and flow guys, the feel and flow…groove..passion!!

Good for whoever said McCready.

Frusciante IS best.

Actually, this is a very touchy subject. Frusciante is definitely my favorite but I think that these musicians perfectly fit the description of the “new masters of guitar playing.” They all deserve credit for what they have contributed to playing guitar, some more than others, but it’s difficult to consider someone as the best, except for Hendrix.
We just need to rock.

All 3 guitarists have something interesting to say with their instruments. Any smart guitarist appreciates that there’s something to learn from everybody. Negative comments stems purely from jealousy. Don’t forget the fact that whichever side of the stage you are, we all share the same love for music/guitar playing.

all ya’ll are crazy!! i only got one question…..
WHERE THE HELL IS HENRY GARZA!!!!!!. he is the only one that comes close to hendrix srv or anybody, i think whoever put these three together is stupid, like i said Henry Garza of Los Lonely Boys should be in the middle of the cover!!!!

We can all learn a lot from these three.. They are definitely the best out there not only because of their techniques but for their passion and dedication that they have into making their guitars speak what they feel inside.

In my opinion John Frusciante is the best guitarist/musician in the world, but John Mayer and Derek Trucks sure know how to play the guitar too. No doubt about that! Here is one for all of you solo-lovers. Listen to John Frusciantes solo in Parallel Universe Live In Hyde Park. I simply cant listen to it without getting a sonic orgasm. It rocks so hard. Its so erotic and full of honesty and energy..

There is no best guitarist. But all three of these guys deserve it more than most. Guitar gods are usually influential, very popular musicians. All three of these guys are multi-platinum. They’re all amazing. Mayer is my favorite though, he’s got that blues style and smoothness that not many others have, it gives me chills when i hear his solos.

This string is pretty funny, you must admit. But the truth of the matter is that there is NO way of measuring who a guitar god is, let alone the 3 most “godly” of them all. Guitar, and music, for that matter, is all about what it instills in you, what each note means to you, whether brown or green or whatever colour note. If we’re discussing technical chops here, than who are we to estimate who is better? The great thing about these three guitarists is their individuality! Frusciante has the ability to create such beautiful music, music so intense and absolutely heart-wrenching that its impossible not to respect him. Mayer is also a brilliant song-writer, in the sense that he integrates pop and blues and great guitar-work all at the same time. Trucks is, well, amazing. He quite literally re-invigorated slide guitar playing. He brought new life, and it is a true joy to hear. Mayer’s comment is true- it sounds like Clare Torry in the Great Gig in the Sky. It is beautiful.

So say who your favorite is, and please say why. WE could all use a different view. But please don’t say “oh John F is good and mayer and trucks suck.” or “trucks is da bomb and frusciante is a junkie.” because music isn’t about being the best. its about being able to reflect yourself.

John Mayer ROCKS!!!!!!

let me add to that sorry
I think there all amazing artists, but just knowing that John Mayer’s major influence was Stevie Ray Vaughan I think should give him a couble of extra points. But, I think generally the whole music industry it’s pretty amazing in it’s self.
So, I guess all I would have left to say is that as long as there music every one is king!!

john Frusciante is always better than mayer and truks…
he is the best…
he has more history than the others…
he’s not just a guittar player he is a great musician and singuer..

All 3 are amazing, but for my money Mayer and Trucks are where it’s at. Gotta have soul baby!

Holla to my Fru fans!!!
And I guess it is just a matter of personal preference (but come on- to anyone who said Trucks and Mayer were better than Frusciante… what were you thinking?!
I agree with everyone who said JFru was flat out THE guitar god, and I WHOLE HEARTEDLY agree with Bean that he should’ve been dead centre. Hell, he should’ve just had his own cover…

All these guys have their own thing and special vibe going on — it’s completely subjective as to who’s “the best”. But I will say that if you watch this video, the one who is the most envied (by Mayer and Frusciante) is clearly Derek Trucks. During the whole time whenever Mayer and Frusciante solo, it’s all good, but at the end when Trucks goes off and does his “make his guitar sound like a singer from the 50’s or 60’s,” you can see that Mayer and Frusciante are blown away by his technique — the telltale sign is that they can’t take their eyes off of him as he plays. And when you have guitarists of their caliber fixated and in awe of you, that’s pretty sweet…

mayer has no where near the level of skill that frusciante has, the cover should be jf, hes the best guitar player to come out of the 90’s.

Anyone who thinks John Mayer is only well-liked by girls is wrong. He’s barely coming out of his Pop-shell and if you’d see him live, you’d know that he is an amazing guitarist. If he was just pop-appeal, then why would RS say he is a guitar God? RS has my respect and so those Mayer.
I actually bought tickets for his Continuum tour this summer.

ok i know rhcp are a good band and all, but if you watch john mayer live with the john mayer trio and watch him play with B.B. King, hes going to go down with people like clapton and stevie. they’re watching derek the whole time cuz slide guitar is something that they don’t do so they’re interested in it, and ya its awesome, but john mayer is the defination of guitar god. theres a reason hes the only one right-side up on the cover.

ok i know rhcp are a good band and all, but if you watch john mayer live with the john mayer trio and watch him play with B.B. King, hes going to go down with people like clapton and stevie. they’re watching derek the whole time cuz slide guitar is something that they don’t do so they’re interested in it, and ya its awesome, but john mayer is the defination of guitar god. theres a reason hes the only one right-side up on the cover.

first of all, all of these guys are great guitar players. of the people on the list derek trucks and warren haynes are definately the best, but what blows my mind is why trey anastasio is not on this list. i would put trey over any person on this list. he is the only person who can jam and improvise for a three hour concert and never become redundant. all of the people on this list have tried in one way or another to immulate another guitar player. trey is the only guitar player of today that can be compared to the classic rock greats because nobody has ever played the guitar like he has. i am not saying the guitar players on this list are not good. i have seen moe. live, derek trucks live, and warren haynes live, and they are all beyond incredible; but in terms of creativity, trey should be at the top of this list.
phish rules.

also, if older people like warren haynes are on this list, then why isnt jimmy herring, lead guitar player for widespread panic, on here. he has just played some of the most incredible concerts of any tour that panic has ever had, and he has been on studio albums with derek trucks and warren haynes. that being said, if we’re only comparing people who are on the list, then derek trucks blows them all away, with the exception of warren haynes. if you watch the video, all john mayer does is play some riffs from “texas flood” by stevie ray vaughan. if you watch derek play his slide, the two others just sit there, almost forgetting that they are holding guitars, and drop there jaws at what derek is doing. he is only one of two people, the other being duane allman, that can play the slide like that. derek trucks is also one of the very few people ever that can tour with eric clapton, follow up eric clapton, and play something that was possibly more incredible than what eric clapton played. top 5 new guitarists: trey anastasio, derek trucks, warren haynes, jimmy herring, brendan bayliss(umphreys mcgee)

Alright we can all agree that they are all very good guitarists, but cmon, frusciante doesnt even really play blues, was kinda just thrown into a blues jam so I really dont think you can tell whos the “best” by this. Its pretty much whatever your into. On a side note, look at frusciantes and mayers guitars, just looking amazing, then that other guy has a fucking sg im pissed. Sry im just really into the vintage look and sound

Sorry Neal, but how are SG’s not vintage, they’ve been around since the 60’s, Clapton and Hendrix played one, so I think that qualifies as vintage. And while the three are all excellent guitarists, I’ve seen Trucks and Frusciante, I’ve never heard anyone put as much into a guitar as Derek Trucks, the man is unreal.

Derek Trucks is amazing. i have seen him live several times and he truly is amazing. For those of you that think he just plays blues, get a clue. He is the most versitile guitarist around right now. Listen to his version of greensleaves – jazz listen to Sahib Teri Bandi – Middle eastern influence….he does to the guitar what Bela Fleck does to the banjo. This guy does not play straight blues…Maybe there is a reason Clapton has been taking him around the world with him in tour.

Derek Trucks is amazing. i have seen him live several times and he truly is amazing. For those of you that think he just plays blues, get a clue. He is the most versitile guitarist around right now. Listen to his version of greensleaves – jazz listen to Sahib Teri Bandi – Middle eastern influence….he does to the guitar what Bela Fleck does to the banjo. This guy does not play straight blues…Maybe there is a reason Clapton has been taking him around the world with him in tour.

Derek Trucks is amazing. i have seen him live several times and he truly is amazing. For those of you that think he just plays blues, get a clue. He is the most versitile guitarist around right now. Listen to his version of greensleaves – jazz listen to Sahib Teri Bandi – Middle eastern influence….he does to the guitar what Bela Fleck does to the banjo. This guy does not play straight blues…Maybe there is a reason Clapton has been taking him around the world with him in tour.

JIMMY HERRING thinks BOBBY LEE RODGERS is a GENIUS…go figure. BOBBY LEE RODGERS taught JOHN MAYER at Berklee in Boston and left for the same reasons Mayer did (won’t go into that here.) NEITHER of these original three sound anything like BOBBY LEE RODGERS (frontman for THE CODETALKERS) he’s a fast-fingered precise player who greats like Hubert Sumlin and Vassar Clements called a genius too. A jazz master with song-writing chops plays jazz on an electric banjo (!?!?!!!) as well as classic guitars like a Gibson 335. You WILL be hearing from him soon….it’s a damn shame the industry works the way it does, or we’d have seem HIM on this cover!

im hear to vote for john fru.frusciante is amazing. he is more original than the others. i love john mayer and trucks but john f just blows them away i think. just his life story is so inspirational and how he learned every frank zappa solo in the fz guitar book by the time he was 17. then left all those chops and almost never used them again. if you listen to the tell me baby b-side lyon 6.06.06 you will be amazed. listen to the whole thing you will be amazed

im hear to vote for john fru.frusciante is amazing. he is more original than the others. i love john mayer and trucks but john f just blows them away i think. just his life story is so inspirational and how he learned every frank zappa solo in the fz guitar book by the time he was 17. then left all those chops and almost never used them again. if you listen to the tell me baby b-side lyon 6.06.06 you will be amazed. listen to the whole thing you will be amazed

im hear to vote for john fru.frusciante is amazing. he is more original than the others. i love john mayer and trucks but john f just blows them away i think. just his life story is so inspirational and how he learned every frank zappa solo in the fz guitar book by the time he was 17. then left all those chops and almost never used them again. if you listen to the tell me baby b-side lyon 6.06.06 you will be amazed. listen to the whole thing you will be amazed

derek trucks is a god. see him live. it is duane respawned

lyon 6.06.06
all i gotta say

Frusciante is the best musician out of all three.

Derek Trucks is a master of the slide.

John Mayer is a tool for turning his back to Frusciante and bragging about Trucks.

John Frusciante was bored to tears.
You can hear him say at the end ” Is that it?”

Frusciante is the best musician out of all three.

Derek Trucks is a master of the slide.

John Mayer is a tool for turning his back to Frusciante and bragging about Trucks.

John Frusciante was bored to tears.
You can hear him say at the end ” Is that it?”

JOHN!!!!:D:D YEAH!!! so good live and recorded

sorry have to be more precies I guess, JOHN FRUSCIANTE!!!

Has anyone thought about the fact that Mayer and Trucks are frontmen?I guess that would explain why the “other guy” doesn’t get the love those two great guitarist get. I just say to all of you haters out there, you really aren’t listening for the right reasons if all you do is argue over who is the best or who is the worst…Just love the music man!

I would have to say that John Frusciante is probably the King of Guitar players. He puts his heart and soul into every note that he plays. He is truly an inspiration. I cannot wait until John and the rest of the Chili Peppers come back to Australia!!!

I had the privelidge of watching an incredible line-up of guitarists perform at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival last weekend. Mayer and Trucks performed and were both amazing! To anyone else who went to the show: I started a Facebook group entitled “I Attended Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007!” Feel free to join and take part in discussion, share pictures/video, etc.

It’s so interesting to read this gb! 1369643800

I am surprised by the amount of members. 1330658142

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John Frusciante is the best one.

m799k

John Frusciante is the best of them and that’s why he is number 18 on top 100 guitarists f all time according to the rolling stone!!!! you gotta love that guy ,i mean i’ve seen live his performances and he’s just playing straight from his heart. his solo work is brilliant as his work with the chilis!!! and those solos!!! awwwwwwww i can’tget them out of my head, he is a god he’s is the best active guitarist player at the moment along with Jack White of the white stripes!!! ok john mayer and derek trucks are good and they sure have a lot of future ahead of them so don’t get me wrong i believe they have talent and they will bacome better as the years go by… soooo thats all i have to say…

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john frusciante puts soul into every note he plays unlike mayer, jf is the closest thing to hendrix

derek trucks is by far the best guitar player up there but Mayer is the best song writing and i dont understand why the fuck everyones bashin him he is fucking amazing

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John Frusciante is the best out of the three. Don’t get me wrong, John mayer and Derek Trucks all have talent but the just dont do it for me. Fru is bad ass. End of story

FRUSCIANTE

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Ok there is no best guitarist our of the three they have there signature techniques and skills. Frusciante is an original and inovator creating such melodic and original riffs and just completely jams. Derek Trucks, like most people said he is a prodigy touring with the Allman Brothers at age 12 the other two cant compare to that but neither of the other two do slide guitar either, and trucks is a legend at slide guitar only behind Duane Allman. John Mayer he is and amazing guitarist hidden behind his pop/rock sing and songwriting, if he would focus mainly on guitar he would be legendary but he loves to sing and songwrite as well and is just an our right melodic genius. And no one can disagree with a word that i just wrote

All 3 are, clearly, amazing guitarists. Personally, John Frusciante is my hero, but then again, I don’t know as much about the other two…There’s something too “suburban” about John Mayer to consider him a guitar god…Trucks is the blues player that Mayer wishes he was.

they didnt even like let frusciante play he dosnt even play the goddamn blues

**JOHN MAYER** To all the loosers who are nay sayin’ MAYER. There is no way on Gods green earth you are in your right mind. 1. You have clearly never been to a JOHN MAYER CONCERT. 2. you are stuck in the past with “your body is a wonderland” and 3. get your head out from between your cheeks. I would litt. give my 2 legs and play in a freakin wheel chair for the rest of my life just to be able to play half as well and with half sd much SOUL as JOHN MAYER. You people make me sick, and I would put MAYER up against JIMI today if he was still alive. You know what. MAYER could kick his ass, but out of respect, wouldnt. HATERS…..IM OUT.

This article actually kinda depresses me. John frusciante’s okay but I’m not blown away by him. John mayer’s music sucks (IMO); the last guy is actually pretty good but ive never heard of him before. listen to older rock and roll players,
listen to brian robertson and scott gorham of thin lizzy, or gary moore, keith richards, tony iommi, angus young, early cream era eric clapton (NOT late eric clapton), ronnie wood, glen tipton, ace frehley, david gilmour, brian may, etc. Those are guitar gods…overall I haven’t heard anything that compares to those greats that is currently popular…I’m sure there are some great unknowns out there though.

john Frusciante is the best by far, mayer sings too much and just cannot think up original licks and Derek Trucks is nearly as god (purposely said god not good) as Frusciante. Frusciante is the next Hendrix without a doubt!

wat a crappy jam…
frusciante doesnt play blues they shoulda let him play his own stuff.
they shoulda let all of them play their respective styles

When John FRU and TRUCKS have the chance to WAX JESSICA SIMPSONS ass then they will be considered guitar gods…KEEP WAXING TONY ROMO

PIMPIN AINT EASY JUST ASK MAYER

John rulez
But this “Jam” was crappy.

Frusciante is amazing !! He is a god and i think he should be better than on 18 in the list of the best guitarists of all time !!!

this “interview” doesn’t do John Frusciante any justice.

sdfsad

sdfsad

Derek and John Mayer are blues gods! Frusciante sucks, he dont got the blues so he CANT play blues

Everybody who thinks John Fru stands the chance to be called a guitar god has never really heard john mayer play. John mayer could play better with his left testicle then john Fru on his best day.

8========>

Everybody knows that John Fru is not a blues player. But he was by far the best player on the cover. John’s style is so original. John Mayer is a better Blues guitarist. Derek Trucks is a better Slide Guitarist, but John Frusciante is a better Guitarist.

ERNIE ISLEY

Derek Trucks is the only one who should be on such a list. The other two are not even in the same league. I like John F. for other reasons but can’t stand John M. at all. He makes me sick and I love the blues. Go see Derek live with the ABB or his own band then then you will understand.

John mayer for much! John Fru sucks, maybe he’s good with RHCP but his solo career sucks, and have u heard him on concerts, really fuckin sucks. John Mayer is an studied guitar player, he knows what he does, so there’s no discussion…

John Frusciante is te best!!
Paul u suck

JONH FRUSCIANTE is the beST eVEr !! MAyer is good too but FRUsciante is a god !!!

I agree that comparisons are mostly futile, and mostly are based on the taste of the day – mine or general – but still, much as I think that Jimi is close to wild crazy and tender godhed, Clapton at his best has incredible finess, but everyone seems to forget that it was Jeff Beck who on Roger the Engineer (remember?) for the firt time actually USED stereo in an at the time mindblowing feedback swinging from left to right channel and back again. And he hasn’t stopped since. he is the only one of the old greats who still has ferocity, feeling and absolute mastery of the guitar. He may be grumpy, he may be no-show, but he can blow everybody away. – As if that meant anything

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Frusciante is a clown. You can see John Mayer and Derek look at him in disgust when he plays his solo becuase it’s just so generic and thin. Derek Trucks is top of the chain, nobody can touch him. John Mayer is a tool but he’s a good player, he keep asking Derek to tour with him but Derek also thinks he’s a tool so it never happens. Kick out Frusciante, he’s a run-of-the-mill rock player with no soul. Put someone up there worthwhile like Kurt Rosenwinkel or even Jonny Greenwood if you’re refusing to delve into jazz.

To all you dumb motherfuckers that ripped on john frusciante, you all deserve to die! as a matter of fact, you probably will die for talkin shit about john frusciante, who as a human being, is the closest to being god. john frusciante is a beautiful, soulful person and a well accomplished musician, more pure than any of you motherfuckers or either of the other two guitarists can be. he has more musical knowledge, style, energy, variety, depth, simplicity, expressions, and has reached a higher musical level than either of the others. Those who talk shit on frusciante are simply utterly idiotic and don’t have a clue of what their shite-filled little brains are thinking. period. john mayer is good, granted, but he’s nowhere near where john frusciante is. he has the skills, techniques, grooves, and moves. but he puts too much emphasis on copying the styles, and sounds of other accomplished musicians and does not stand up on his own. also, he knows nothing about conducting energy and does not have much of a style of his own. i don’t know much about Trucks… but this article itself is a piece of shit, from someone who knows little about the magic that is music. peace out, muthafuckas!

Honestly guys, its just a matter of opinion, it dosn’t really matter who is the so called ‘best’ it all depends on what kind of music you like, IM all for Mayber, but nonetheless. You guys/girls fight over it.

alright. listen up. this is for the John Mayer hater. are you guys are stupid. John Mayer does not copy anyone. Music it self is repeated throughout history. whatever you hear from John Frusciante and Derek there all been played of since rock and roll came in history. John Mayer has the skills to back it up and it shows in this video. btw he describes others guitar style. he knows in and out what he talks about. AND! he does have energy because if he doesnt he wouldnt have won 8 grammies. i dont know what you guys are talking about how John frusciante sucks either. HE DOESNT. John Frusciante is a legend and so is daren. if you check the video again when they were all playing… THATS CALLED COMPLEMENTING. GET THAT STRAIGHT. because they compliment it means they know how to make each other sound good. SO BEFORE U COMMENT ON THIS. THINK IT THROUGH FIRST!. AFTER ALL THEYRE CALLED THE THREE KINGS. theres a reason for that… you idiots.

Fellas, there’s no way you can compare these three but one thing is very clear, john frusciante and trucks are really on top of the genres they play, mean to say frusciante is the best punk rock guitarist and derek trucks is amazing slide guitarist………. but john mayer is just a commercial musician, he is no were in the line of blues guitarists, as he neither play perfect blues nor rock n roll, just a good commercial musician stealing licks from SRV, clapton……….and playing them well

John Frusciante hands down!!! Listen to his solo albums and tell me he doesn’t have fucking soul. The man was on top of the world and threw it away to go into solitude and do a bunch of heroin. He burned down his house and now his arms are covered in third degree burns. He got clean and is back on top again, having never lost his love for playing the guitar and making music. He doesn’t do it for any other reason than he loves music, and if it’s not accessible to the mainstream, too fucking bad for mainstream. His albums were recorded at home and still sound better than. John Mayer, who by all standards is a record company cash cow for the dumb fucking masses, can’t compare. “JohnFrusciante=RocknRoll”

John doesn’t care about playing “imprepssive” solos anymore he’s all about soul and creating music in general as he says “You can’t forget it’s all about music, it’s not about how fast you can hit notes with a piece of wood with strings on it.”. Frusciante just plays so beautifully and with so much soul while Mayer sort of hops around on stage as if he wants to go to that place John goes when he solos. It’s obvious John doesn’t really care much for this interview because he himself says being a guitar god is not something he wants to ever be considered. Derek is amazing, Mayer had potential to be a respectful musician but he threw it all away by making himself a sell out pop maker then tried gaining musicians respect by replaying old blue’s licks. Derek is probably an amazing slide player while frusciante himself is an amazing guitar player and musician (he writes full songs not just guitar). Mayer is just sucking the corporate dick but stopped and is trying to save himself but it’s too late. Frusciante clearly doesn’t care about this interview since he is so eager to leave at the end of the clip while Mayer is doing the douchey move and trying to get the last note in the jam, and Derek is just being a chill guy. Just listening to Frusciante solo you can hear that he is truly the continuation of Hendrix in terms of soloing anyways.

John Frusciante is one of the most underated guitarists. If you have seen him play you would be wondering why you’ve been watching douche mayer the past years. Mayer trys to hard he can’t even feel music unlike Frusciante you can hear him speak to you through his imrpovs.

I don’t like Mayer’s style. It’s too commercial, too sweet to me. Derek Truck is way better, he’s the master of slide guitar…But the best is John Frusciante. Way better than Mayer and Trucks. He is the one and only(new)guitar God.