Jimi Hendrix is the best guitar player ever

“I wish he had listened to what I said in round one and I am willing to overlook it, and I ask he not give an argument in the last round.”Ok, this is weird because I did not see and opening argument from you. It was blank and I thought that was weird but posted anyways. “Now as we all know Rolling Stone magazine is possibly the most trustworthy music, and pop culture source in the US today.”This has to be a joke right? When Rolling Stone is posting stories on Global Warming you know it’s joke. Not only that but they did not like Led Zeppelin too much back in their day. They even hated many of the songs that came to be some of Led Zeppelin’s most beloved hits. Yeah, that shows how trustworthy and accurate they are. “Led Zeppelin's forte has always been rockin' the blues; if they took themselves seriously they'd realize that they are foolish to step outside that genre.” (1) Hindsights 20/20 on that one right Rolling Stone? It shows LZ’s creative genius and willingness to explore different styles and create timeless rock music! “The truly original songs on Houses of the Holy again underscore Led Zeppelin's songwriting deficiences… So it is that "Dancing Days," "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter" fall flat on their respective faces..” (1) Again, this is from the same magazine you respect so much? “D'yer Mak'er" is even worse, a pathetic stab at reggae.. is obnoxiously heavy-handed and totally devoid of the native form's sensibilities.” (1) D’yer Mak’er is one of my favorite LZ songs! It’s also always on the local classic rock station. I guess the writer didn’t understand LZ creative genius and they took reggae and rocked the $H!T out of it!This proves Rolling Stone has been a joke since the 70’s and should not be considered as the be-all-end-all source for music reviews. “Despite what my opponent has said about these “not be related” I find skill and ability to be a very similar thing, the ability to innovate comes with skill and natural talent, nobody can just wake up and say “hey today I’m going to change the world of rock.” Innovations can not only help change music, but can also describe the musician’s skill with said instrument.” This is true I don’t deny his “innovations” and yes it took “skill” and “talent”. He was very good at blues rock. But does that make him the best guitarist? No. Did Henry Ford “revolutionize” and “innovate” automobile manufacturing? Yes, but was the Model T the best car? Was Ford the best car builder of all time? No. Same goes for Dick Fosbury. Did he have incredible skill and innovate/revolutionize the sport of high jumping? Yes. He won Gold in 1968. But is he the “greatest high jumper of all time”? No. So while innovating does take skill, it doesn’t make you the MOST skilled now does it? No. “Nobody can argue that Hendrix was an extremely universal guitar player” He was fairly universal, but universal doesn’t mean you have the speed or technical ability to play “everything”. “Whereas guitarists like Angelo and Malmsteen seemed to be stuck in their own genre of music and unable to escape from it.” I could say the same about Jimi now can’t I? However, Malmsteen is also a master of the classical acoustic guitar where as Hendrix wasn’t. You may not like his “style” but you cannot deny his technical ability and speed. This displays a wider skill range than Jimi. “Okay, NOT HARD TO PLAY? When you post a video of you playing your guitar with your ‘teeth, then I’ll believe that” Irrelevant point. However I can do that and so can many others but I’m not up for the title of greatest guitarist now am I? Plucking a string with your teeth is hardly a qualifier. There’s a guy with no arms who can play with his feet. Does that make him the greatest? No. Can Jimi play a double necked guitar at the same time? Notice how Batio is also able to play hand over the fretboard and cross handed! Did jimi ever demonstrate this? No.“You can’t simply hold back the title of greatest guitar player because you are unable to play Angelo and Malmsteen’s music, you inability’s are irrelevant to your case.”What? You just made my case. The inabiltiy to play something HAS to be a disqualifier if you’re trying to be labeled the “greatest guitarist”! And no, that video does not show Jimi playing with the speed and precision of Malmsteen or Batio. He jumps around a lot and does your basic hammer on/pull offs with some slides. That doesn’t prove anything. I won’t deny his showmanship but showmanship doesn’t make you the “best guitar player”. If Jimi is unable to play Malmsteen or Batio music then yes, that does disqualify him for being labeled as the “greatest guitarist”. Why? Because that means he doesn’t have the skill, speed, or technical abilities that the “greatest guitarist” should posses. That’s kind of like saying the best NFL field goal kicker doesn’t have the highest percentage of kicks made but he “innovated” the “soccer style” now used by every NFL kicker where at the time everyone was still using the straight on “toe poke” style. BTW, I love “Purple Haze” and crank it every time I hear it on the radio. However, it was also one of the first songs I learned. It’s simple bluesy rock licks. Check out Dragonforce’s guitarist. He’s phenomenal! Could this guy play Jimi? I bet he first learned from Jimi’s songs but could Jimi touch this guy’s skill? No. Again, this isn’t about style or innovations. It’s about who displays the most skill and technical abilities. A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. To be the “greatest guitarist” you have to be someone who displays the most skill and ability on said instrument. Was Jimi the best “blues rock guitarist” in his day? You could make that argument but as far as “greatest guitarist of all time”? It’s clear he is not. (1) http://www.rollingstone.com... http://www.youtube.com...http://www.youtube.com...http://www.youtube.com...