Greatest of all time….. subjective.
Among the greatest of all time…… objective.
Is he on the Mount Rushmore of guitarists? Is he in the pantheon of great guitarists? Yes!! To say greatest of all time, that is for individuals to decide. He is certainly among the greatest of the greats.
Absolutely agree. I will say at the time he pushed the instrument way beyond what we had ever heard commercially in the heavy pop rock space. I know for sure he inspired 100s of thousands of young people to go I want to learn to play like that and a lot of them did. That’s the greatest of something for sure.
It's funny. I was a preteen/teen when VH 1 & 2 and the other classic VH albums came out.
I was so Godsmacked that I went on to learn drums. There was no way I was going to match Eddie.
I agree. WAY too many incredible guitarists out there to definitely say X guy is the GOAT. But EVH is definitely in the team picture of Guitar Legends.
Eddie is a master of his craft, but maybe not a jack of all trades. There is only one EVH, but there’s a lot of Guthrie Govan types who can play any style and fit in with any band or ensemble. Eddie was the best at being Eddie.
Jacks of all trades lack feel, and a specific signature sound, defeating the purpose of playing guitar as an art form. You said it yourself: “there’s a lot of Guthrie Govan types” who all sound the same, and who have reduced music to Olympic sport consumerism. Eddie was so great that when we listen to him, we don’t just hear what he’s playing, but what he’s hearing in his head. He chased a very specific tone his entire life and described playing guitar as “getting the guitar out of the way.” Once you realize what he meant by this, it changes everything. He wasn’t just the best at being Eddie, he was the best at connecting with the “feel” in us all.
What are some standout Eddie guitar solo tracks?
(I’m not really a Van Halen fan, Reddit started serving me this sub randomly, but I am down for the cause and want to believe.)
Panama, Unchained, Ain’t Talkn Bout Love, Ice Cream Man, I’m the One, Mean Street, Pretty Woman, Light Up the Sky, Secrets, Little Guitars, Dirty Movies, Top Jimmy, Dreams, 5150, Cathedral, AFU, Summer Nights, Cabo Wabo, Feels So Good, Ripley (before it was called Blood and Fire), Amsterdam, Pleasure Dome, Right Now, Spanked, The Seventh Seal, Aftershock, Big Fat Money, Dirty Water Dog, She’s the Woman,
Tattoo.
Every one has an amazing solo.
Spanish Fly, Respect The Wind, 316 (the live 1993 version), Eruption, Catherine.
These are his best guitar instrumental tracks, and you should be able to form your opinion based on these.
“Outta Love” is my favorite. Compact, builds slow, and is blisteringly fast when it needs to be. Eddie’s technical skills were so cutting-edge and overwhelming he didn’t get enough credit for his creativity, imho.
Try Unchained and Mean Street for some incredible guitar work through the whole song and some great solos. Other standouts for solos are Beat It Ice Cream Man, Show Your Love…
Yes. He is the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time. We are only now just figuring out how great.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU
He was the the most innovative ever (when you add gear, technique for his time etc.). This is especially true with a band and live. Many sound great in the studio. He sounded great all the time. How many recordings did he do in one take? He had feel, speed, innovation and groundbreaking tone. Then there is the songwriting? How many virtuoso guitarist had that many hit songs, albums etc. Legend. I think he is objectively the all around greatest when you consider all this and his impact on music and guitar playing.
Agree 100%. When you factor in the songwriting along with the virtuosity, there’s never been anyone better. He may be the best rock and pop songwriter ever. Lennon and McCartney had each other, same with Mick and Keith.
I did when I was young, but I don't think about music that way anymore. I now believe there is too much music in the world, and too may different kinds of players, to ever say just one player is the greatest. And there really doesn't need to be one.
I don't consider anyone in any trade to be "the greatest of all time".
I actually don't like when people do it.
Edward was good and I liked him.
That's more than enough.
Yes. Are there people who can do more than Eddie? Not many, but sure probably. Looking at the whole picture though, at his solos AND riffs, his songwriting, his innovation, his influence on guitar and music as a whole, there's no comparison.
Also (and I know this has nothing to do specifically with him being the guitar GOAT) but as a father, I loved having seen Eddie's relationship with Wolfgang. I understand that we only really saw the side of him that was filmed in this respect, but the fact that he is the GOAT, knew that, and didn't let it go to his head and was still a decent human being and a great father (at least from my perspective), gives me the utmost respect for him.
This is further evidenced by how Wolfgang talks about him. The best test of how you're doing as a parent is hearing from another adult what your child's unprovoked honest unfiltered opinion about you is. We've seen that from Wolfgang.
I’d argue that EVH was an absolute innovator and game changer for many years, but the reality is, we as fans, never saw anything new from him for many years either. Every concert was the same stuff served up with minor variations. Don’t get me wrong- absolutely love VH music, but there’s plenty of other guitarists playing, recording and releasing some pretty cool stuff
He’s one of them. Greatest depends on styles and personal tastes. I think what makes people like EVH so great was he was a pioneer. He basically invented a new style, but I’m sure he was inspired by some other great to do what he did…but he took it to a new level.
Who here has heard of Danny Gatton? Anyone ever see Ichika Nito play on Youtube? Your mind will be blown! Ever see Roy Clark play? What ruins some of these legends is seeing some 12 year old play it note for note, but they didn’t write it or invent it…they are just copying.
Seriously…look up Ichika Nito on Youtube and see guitar playing as original and complex as it can possibly be.
He is the most important electric rock guitar player. That is the hill I will fight on. And have. But I won't here, it's r/vanhalen, I shouldn't have to.
Yes because he wrote my favorite music . I could care less about every guitar center teacher and YouTube shredder because none of them wrote Van Halen 1 . Mount Rushmore of rock guitar is really only Evh and Hendrix and I really only put Hendrix there out of respect, I still prefer Evh by a mile.
I do. Hendrix was an innovator to be sure. As was Eddie. Maybe those two were equals? Clapton, Moore couldn't stick to a genre...bad or good? Clapton is slightly overrated in many ways. Rhoads, Malmsteen, Lynch, Nuno, Friedman...etc, GREAT ( forgive me Randy ), but didn't inspire like Eddie. Blues, jazz, punk, fusion guys all have a hero...
But nobody made the homies want to pick up a guitar like Edward did. Nobody.
Definitely one of the greatest “commercial” guitarists of all time, and extremely technically competent. But it’s so subjective. There are so many amazing blues and jazz guitarists I would consider far better than EVH. Walter Trout is among the best of these. Or consider Sonny Landreth, Joe Bonamassa, Tab Benoit, Robert Johnson, Luther Allison, B.B. King, Gary Moore, T-Bone Walker, Coco Montoya, Pat Metheney, Larry Carlton, Al Di Meola…the list goes on and on. And don’t forget about Frank Zappa and Steve Vai. To single out EVH as the greatest of all time is preposterous…exceptional, yes - but nowhere near the greatest of all time.
Not greatest, innovative..yes. Hammer ons were a little known or used technique that he mastered. There's so many guitar guys, it's hard to say in my book. Joe B currently crushes Eddie in overall ability, Joe Satriani the list goes on and on. But innovation and rock creativety, 100%.
Satriani is GREATLY overrated in my opinion.
neither of those would top EVH imo.
If you want to talk about modern hyper-shredders, then that's another discussion
Yep. Hendrix comes extremely close, but Eddie is, was, and always will be the king of electric guitar. Eruption inspired millions, including me to pick up the guitar.
Certainly one the most influential, before/after players in the company of Robert Johnson, Django, Les Paul, Hendrix, Segovia. Talking about people whose impact was so significant that their playing became the way everyone after them had to either emulate or totally avoid.
And with Ed, he not only created the template for rock guitar playing for a whole decade, but also changed instrument and amp design.
He’s the most entertaining guitarist of my generation, but I don’t often see him ranked ahead of Clapton/Hendrix. Maybe another ten years from now he will be—there’s definitely a generational bias for some people, IMO.
No such thing as "greatest guitarist of all time." Its a silly notion.
IMO, Eddie was a guitar genius. Wildly inventive, influential and creative. He burst onto the scene and changed SO MUCH. He will forever be one of my all time favorites. I'm just happy that he shared his gifts with our ears and hearts.
he was the 3rd most influential guitar player of all time....Hendrix, Page then Eddie.....1st was late 60s, Page was the 70s and Eddie started in 78 and was king into the 80s & beyond
Never been a big Van Halen fan. Now at almost 50, i been learning guitar , I practice like an hour a night, and I get how good Eddie is now. I could never
There’s no denying Eddie changed everything. He was on the cover of every guitar magazine for years and influenced more people than can ever be counted. It’s happened before and I hope it will happen again if rock guitar ever makes a comeback in anything like the mainstream. However until “all time” stops it’s impossible to determine who the greatest of all time can be.
I'd say he's one of the greatest and most influential musicians ever, you can't deny it
But there is no greatest musician, no #1, I mean, I'd say he's MY #1 musician, but music is subjective
How does one determine guitar greatness? What rating criteria do we use to compare EVH to Page, Hendrix, Allman/ Betts, Beck, Rhoads, Kath, Blackmore, Clapton, Young, Richard’s, May, Prince, Santana, Gilmour, May, Townsend, Buckingham, Young, Howe, Leifson, Walsh? I’m sure I am missing some others that could be in the “greatest of all time “ group. But what measures can we apply to select the single greatest guitarist of all time? I can’t do it. I just love listening to their unbelievable music.
He certainly furthered the guitar / but also standing on the shoulders of giants. He’s one of the greats for sure - I’m not sure if there ever will be a ‘greatest’ of all time.
Depends on who you listen to. He's not as fast as John McLaughlin, who has way more knowledge of chords and how they fit together. Eddie was very good at what he did, however.
EVH is one of those guys I wouldn’t put in my top 5, perhaps not my top 10.
I’m not saying I’m not wrong in that opinion, he’s just not my favorite. Interesting dude though, I love how he was always tinkering with his gear and building the guitars he heard in his head.
I think EVH was a talented musician, he was innovative and was extremely influential. I don't think he was the best though. I can think of several guitarist that were all of the things I said about him. Doesn't detract from the fact he was skilled af.
As far as mixing feel and technique and being part of a band that released so many iconic songs that helped define a cultural era, I would say he is at least tied with Hendrix.
But for my money Paco de Lucia is the best player of all time.
No. I was hoping that after Dave he would breech out to other projects.That did not happen. They hired Sammy and continued down the FM rock radio thing.
I think of guitarists from this perspective: at the time of their introduction to the masses, what was the general guitar climate?
For Hendrix (in 1966) to have such a realized vision - at a time surf music ruled, and distorted guitar sounds were a new concept? Mind boggling. The same for EVH in 1978, I’d say those 2 changed the way everyone plays guitar.
The whole "greatest" thing is a bad game. EVH definitely transformed guitar playing in a way that only a handful of guitarists have done before or since.
Old dude here, was around when Jimi was big, jaw dropped when I first heard “Eruption” (I can take you to the exact spot almost 50 years later 😅), and I’ve played guitar for nearly 50 years. I think “best” has a lot of recency bias built-in, and “first” is also a big factor to some people. Jimi probably could never have played EVH’s solos, but EVH stood on the shoulders of giants (like Jimi) to get where he was. And with all that said, I think it’s a tie between those two.
The thing about Eddie is that it wasn’t just the great guitar solos, but he also wrote fantastic songs. There are great technical guitar wizards out there who may play all kinds of unbelievable solos, but did they write as great songs with the feel that Eddie does on guitar? The greatest guitarist should not just be about guitar solos.
The thing with Eddie Van Halen, is that as incredibly complex his music was to play...when you saw him play live, he did it effortlessly. I don't think he even looked at his fretboard but a few times.
No. He is not. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ed. But I’ve been playing guitar 47 years and I’ve studied dozens and dozens of other players. As far as sheer, raw, technical ability, he’s right up there, but his repertoire is limited.
For instance, he can’t play country, swing, jazz, western, flamenco, etc. He’s not a qualified studio musician either.
As far as rock guitar is concerned, he’s one of the best ever. But best in the world? Sorry, but no.
In my opinion no but he is always going to be at the front of the pack. He was innovative in his genre, but randy Rhodes was just a few months behind him making a mark in rock n roll.
Maybe I needed to see the guy live or something but I never got it. As a non-guitar playing only played keys dude I always felt Santana, Hendrix, Garcia, Beck, Prince, Frusciante, Zappa much more so he’s well out of my top 5 and there’s more I can’t think of now. I like him and early VH a lot just never heard anything that made me super excited about Eddie. I’m not real into Clapton or Page even so it’s probably just my tastes since that’s his main influences.
No. One the best sure. Brain may thinks Eddie is amazing. He’s like the Kieth moon of guitar the very best in that style. One of the last greats to be sure.
Eddie changed guitar. In the wake of EVH all rock guitarists either tried to ape his techniques or devote themselves to learning all his chops. The brown sound has never really been replicated accurately, to my ears anyway. But besides the recordings, Eddie had star power. Like Jimmy Page. Charisma and stage presence to match DLR, no easy feat! And after Eddie? What guitarist ever brought that star power again? Kurt Cobain and Jack White kept guitar popular during the heights of their respective popularity and…hanging my head..gagging..T Swift is bringing the guitar to the attention of..(throwing up)..Swifties. But obviously none of these artists brought the virtuosity along with the popularity. Long reign King Edward!
Hard to argue otherwise, but almost everyone who picks up the instrument after a player of his calibre emerges will draw comparison in some form. Greatest? I'll probably never pick a greatest or a best...or even a favourite, but he's definitely a favourite.
Never liked the “greatest” arguments. All of the greats are an amalgamation of a lot of other players. Eddie could certainly make a guitar do amazing things, so could Beck, Page, Blackmore, Gallagher, Lifeson, Howe, Fripp and a lot of others that came before him.
As the poster above stated, Eddie is in the rarified air of the pantheon of the masters for sure.
Greatest rock guitarist, absolutely. Yes. Even better and more influential than Jimi Hendrix.
Greatest guitarist generally speaking, no. People like Joe Pass, Alan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, Matteo Mancuso, etc. exist.
Greatest of all time….. subjective. Among the greatest of all time…… objective. Is he on the Mount Rushmore of guitarists? Is he in the pantheon of great guitarists? Yes!! To say greatest of all time, that is for individuals to decide. He is certainly among the greatest of the greats.
Thanks the right answer. I love EVH’s sound and I enjoy VH’s songs, but there are still artists that I prefer over him ; but he’s definitely up there
Absolutely agree. I will say at the time he pushed the instrument way beyond what we had ever heard commercially in the heavy pop rock space. I know for sure he inspired 100s of thousands of young people to go I want to learn to play like that and a lot of them did. That’s the greatest of something for sure.
It's funny. I was a preteen/teen when VH 1 & 2 and the other classic VH albums came out. I was so Godsmacked that I went on to learn drums. There was no way I was going to match Eddie.
This is a very diplomatic but also very accurate and perfect answer. Well put.
Definitely on Rushmore!
I agree. WAY too many incredible guitarists out there to definitely say X guy is the GOAT. But EVH is definitely in the team picture of Guitar Legends.
The question was "Do ***you*** consider" so he's not asking for objective, but individual personal opinions.
upvote for *reading* the question. seems like we need this to be a poll where Yes and No are the only choices
Couldn’t have said it better myself
Very well said. There are many different styles of playing and music styles. It's tough to compare and give the greatest title to one person.
I agree. Top 5 for sure
Top 2
More accurate.
There’s no objective measure of “greatest”. King Edward **IS** one of the most influential guitarists ever. That is beyond question.
Influential absolutely. Inventive, creative, unique etc. greatest is subjective
On top of being one the greatest musicians and musical minds of the last 500years and definitely in recorded history.
Yet compared to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, or Zappa, so little of his music has been released...
Eddie is a master of his craft, but maybe not a jack of all trades. There is only one EVH, but there’s a lot of Guthrie Govan types who can play any style and fit in with any band or ensemble. Eddie was the best at being Eddie.
Jacks of all trades lack feel, and a specific signature sound, defeating the purpose of playing guitar as an art form. You said it yourself: “there’s a lot of Guthrie Govan types” who all sound the same, and who have reduced music to Olympic sport consumerism. Eddie was so great that when we listen to him, we don’t just hear what he’s playing, but what he’s hearing in his head. He chased a very specific tone his entire life and described playing guitar as “getting the guitar out of the way.” Once you realize what he meant by this, it changes everything. He wasn’t just the best at being Eddie, he was the best at connecting with the “feel” in us all.
What are some standout Eddie guitar solo tracks? (I’m not really a Van Halen fan, Reddit started serving me this sub randomly, but I am down for the cause and want to believe.)
the Hot for Teacher solo REALLY does it for me. the solo on Ice Cream Man is also unbelievable.
Panama, Unchained, Ain’t Talkn Bout Love, Ice Cream Man, I’m the One, Mean Street, Pretty Woman, Light Up the Sky, Secrets, Little Guitars, Dirty Movies, Top Jimmy, Dreams, 5150, Cathedral, AFU, Summer Nights, Cabo Wabo, Feels So Good, Ripley (before it was called Blood and Fire), Amsterdam, Pleasure Dome, Right Now, Spanked, The Seventh Seal, Aftershock, Big Fat Money, Dirty Water Dog, She’s the Woman, Tattoo. Every one has an amazing solo.
SECRETS MENTIONED
5150 live version. https://youtu.be/HB8vp5R6Vmk?si=NwRE7z87dPVAxFcy
This is the way.
Beat it. One of the greatest solos imo.
And apparently he did that one for free
“Right Now” is one of my personal favorites. Also worth checking out stuff like Amsterdam or Mean Street
It’s so often thought of as a piano song but you’re right the solo is good on RN
Spanish Fly, Respect The Wind, 316 (the live 1993 version), Eruption, Catherine. These are his best guitar instrumental tracks, and you should be able to form your opinion based on these.
Catherine is utter crap compared to his earlier work. He’s trying to reinvent himself as satriani or some such nonsense. Low point for Ed
Eruption is the “one”
Hot for Teacher, I’m the One, 5150, Judgement Day, Ice Cream Man
Panama, and I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned already.
The entire first 4 studio albums are fantastic. Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning.
“Outta Love” is my favorite. Compact, builds slow, and is blisteringly fast when it needs to be. Eddie’s technical skills were so cutting-edge and overwhelming he didn’t get enough credit for his creativity, imho.
Try Unchained and Mean Street for some incredible guitar work through the whole song and some great solos. Other standouts for solos are Beat It Ice Cream Man, Show Your Love…
If not, one watch of eruption solo live should do the trick.
Yes.
Does a one legged duck swim in a circle?
Yes. He is the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time. We are only now just figuring out how great. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU He was the the most innovative ever (when you add gear, technique for his time etc.). This is especially true with a band and live. Many sound great in the studio. He sounded great all the time. How many recordings did he do in one take? He had feel, speed, innovation and groundbreaking tone. Then there is the songwriting? How many virtuoso guitarist had that many hit songs, albums etc. Legend. I think he is objectively the all around greatest when you consider all this and his impact on music and guitar playing.
Agree 100%. When you factor in the songwriting along with the virtuosity, there’s never been anyone better. He may be the best rock and pop songwriter ever. Lennon and McCartney had each other, same with Mick and Keith.
He changed the sound of rock guitar. He’s hugely influential. On rock’s Mount Rushmore. Not the greatest of all time.
Well, yes.
Top 3 at least.
I did when I was young, but I don't think about music that way anymore. I now believe there is too much music in the world, and too may different kinds of players, to ever say just one player is the greatest. And there really doesn't need to be one.
I don't consider anyone in any trade to be "the greatest of all time". I actually don't like when people do it. Edward was good and I liked him. That's more than enough.
Joe B... legit
Objectively there isn’t a number 1. Could it be argued that Ed could be number 1? Absolutely, and that alone makes him one of many greatest.
ABSOLUTELY HE'S A ROCK GOD 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Yes. Are there people who can do more than Eddie? Not many, but sure probably. Looking at the whole picture though, at his solos AND riffs, his songwriting, his innovation, his influence on guitar and music as a whole, there's no comparison. Also (and I know this has nothing to do specifically with him being the guitar GOAT) but as a father, I loved having seen Eddie's relationship with Wolfgang. I understand that we only really saw the side of him that was filmed in this respect, but the fact that he is the GOAT, knew that, and didn't let it go to his head and was still a decent human being and a great father (at least from my perspective), gives me the utmost respect for him. This is further evidenced by how Wolfgang talks about him. The best test of how you're doing as a parent is hearing from another adult what your child's unprovoked honest unfiltered opinion about you is. We've seen that from Wolfgang.
Yes I do.
He’s on the Mt . Rushmore of guitarists
Yes
Yes 🐐
Yes. No question
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes
Yes I do.
Yes🤘🏿🤘🏿
Yes.
Yes, no cap
Yes
Yes
Yes.
Yes, without a second's hesitation.
Yes.
For me Stevie Ray Vaughn
David Gilmour for me 😍
For me Jimi Hendrix
Band of Gypsys album really opened my ears to JH
I do
Yes then Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan … in that order
For me EVH is my favorite.
I’d argue that EVH was an absolute innovator and game changer for many years, but the reality is, we as fans, never saw anything new from him for many years either. Every concert was the same stuff served up with minor variations. Don’t get me wrong- absolutely love VH music, but there’s plenty of other guitarists playing, recording and releasing some pretty cool stuff
yes. without a doubt.
Rock Guitarist? Yes.
Greatest Rock guitarist of all time, yes
Obviously.
#1. Absolutely. B. He looks like Robbie Robertson in that pic.
I don’t consider anyone to be the greatest player of all time. No one can play Eddie’s stuff better than he can, though.
Yes….not only can he play but all the modifications he did to get that sound is incredible.
Eddie, Sister Rosetta, and Jimi Hendrix
Yes.
He’s not even the best guitarist in Van Halen. /s
He’s one of them. Greatest depends on styles and personal tastes. I think what makes people like EVH so great was he was a pioneer. He basically invented a new style, but I’m sure he was inspired by some other great to do what he did…but he took it to a new level. Who here has heard of Danny Gatton? Anyone ever see Ichika Nito play on Youtube? Your mind will be blown! Ever see Roy Clark play? What ruins some of these legends is seeing some 12 year old play it note for note, but they didn’t write it or invent it…they are just copying. Seriously…look up Ichika Nito on Youtube and see guitar playing as original and complex as it can possibly be.
I mean, my gut reaction is yes. I’ve seen the man live and he was just electric. I’ve seen a lot of humans play guitar, this one was something else
He is the most important electric rock guitar player. That is the hill I will fight on. And have. But I won't here, it's r/vanhalen, I shouldn't have to.
Yes because he wrote my favorite music . I could care less about every guitar center teacher and YouTube shredder because none of them wrote Van Halen 1 . Mount Rushmore of rock guitar is really only Evh and Hendrix and I really only put Hendrix there out of respect, I still prefer Evh by a mile.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Fuck…yes
Yes
Eddie studied and copied Uli Roth riffs and whammy bar tricks, so does that make Uli Roth one of the greatest of all time?
second greatest. Jimi #1
fuck yeah
Yep
Indeed
Yes
💯
I do. Hendrix was an innovator to be sure. As was Eddie. Maybe those two were equals? Clapton, Moore couldn't stick to a genre...bad or good? Clapton is slightly overrated in many ways. Rhoads, Malmsteen, Lynch, Nuno, Friedman...etc, GREAT ( forgive me Randy ), but didn't inspire like Eddie. Blues, jazz, punk, fusion guys all have a hero... But nobody made the homies want to pick up a guitar like Edward did. Nobody.
Is this even a question?
Hell yeah! I even think he's one of the best muscicans to ever walk the earth in HISTORY.
That would be Paco de Lucia. At least according to Keith Richards. Check him out before you downvote me.
If we're talking about rock guitarists, he's definitely up there with Hendrix
Definitely one of the greatest “commercial” guitarists of all time, and extremely technically competent. But it’s so subjective. There are so many amazing blues and jazz guitarists I would consider far better than EVH. Walter Trout is among the best of these. Or consider Sonny Landreth, Joe Bonamassa, Tab Benoit, Robert Johnson, Luther Allison, B.B. King, Gary Moore, T-Bone Walker, Coco Montoya, Pat Metheney, Larry Carlton, Al Di Meola…the list goes on and on. And don’t forget about Frank Zappa and Steve Vai. To single out EVH as the greatest of all time is preposterous…exceptional, yes - but nowhere near the greatest of all time.
That title belongs to Roy Clark. Jimi loved him.
Honourable mention to Glen Campbell.
Throw Chet Atkins in there too.
This
Not greatest, innovative..yes. Hammer ons were a little known or used technique that he mastered. There's so many guitar guys, it's hard to say in my book. Joe B currently crushes Eddie in overall ability, Joe Satriani the list goes on and on. But innovation and rock creativety, 100%.
I wouldn’t put Satriani over Ed, though. Recently saw a video of him trying to play mean street and failed miserably lol
Satriani is GREATLY overrated in my opinion. neither of those would top EVH imo. If you want to talk about modern hyper-shredders, then that's another discussion
Yes
Yes
Yes and best band all time
YES
Yep. Hendrix comes extremely close, but Eddie is, was, and always will be the king of electric guitar. Eruption inspired millions, including me to pick up the guitar.
Certainly one the most influential, before/after players in the company of Robert Johnson, Django, Les Paul, Hendrix, Segovia. Talking about people whose impact was so significant that their playing became the way everyone after them had to either emulate or totally avoid. And with Ed, he not only created the template for rock guitar playing for a whole decade, but also changed instrument and amp design.
He’s the most entertaining guitarist of my generation, but I don’t often see him ranked ahead of Clapton/Hendrix. Maybe another ten years from now he will be—there’s definitely a generational bias for some people, IMO.
If you liked what he played then I guess so. If you don’t like what he played, then I guess he wouldn’t.
One of the greatest for sure.
Top 5. Possibly top 3.
No, but he's definitely a milestone guitarist. Someone who changed the game.
I do. But others may not. I understand that. Greatest, at anything, is an individual opinion.
No such thing as "greatest guitarist of all time." Its a silly notion. IMO, Eddie was a guitar genius. Wildly inventive, influential and creative. He burst onto the scene and changed SO MUCH. He will forever be one of my all time favorites. I'm just happy that he shared his gifts with our ears and hearts.
One of...each Great brings their own technique. Eddie was definitely inventive and deserves top spot mention.
he was the 3rd most influential guitar player of all time....Hendrix, Page then Eddie.....1st was late 60s, Page was the 70s and Eddie started in 78 and was king into the 80s & beyond
Never been a big Van Halen fan. Now at almost 50, i been learning guitar , I practice like an hour a night, and I get how good Eddie is now. I could never
There’s no denying Eddie changed everything. He was on the cover of every guitar magazine for years and influenced more people than can ever be counted. It’s happened before and I hope it will happen again if rock guitar ever makes a comeback in anything like the mainstream. However until “all time” stops it’s impossible to determine who the greatest of all time can be.
I'd say he's one of the greatest and most influential musicians ever, you can't deny it But there is no greatest musician, no #1, I mean, I'd say he's MY #1 musician, but music is subjective
I wonder if Randy Rhoads didn’t pass away how both of their evolution would have worked out. They were both on a similar path.
What a dumb question.
The greatest influence on rock and metal for sure. A pioneer for sure.
How does one determine guitar greatness? What rating criteria do we use to compare EVH to Page, Hendrix, Allman/ Betts, Beck, Rhoads, Kath, Blackmore, Clapton, Young, Richard’s, May, Prince, Santana, Gilmour, May, Townsend, Buckingham, Young, Howe, Leifson, Walsh? I’m sure I am missing some others that could be in the “greatest of all time “ group. But what measures can we apply to select the single greatest guitarist of all time? I can’t do it. I just love listening to their unbelievable music.
He certainly furthered the guitar / but also standing on the shoulders of giants. He’s one of the greats for sure - I’m not sure if there ever will be a ‘greatest’ of all time.
I don't. Definitely Top 5 though.
One of them. There is no one greatest
Depends on who you listen to. He's not as fast as John McLaughlin, who has way more knowledge of chords and how they fit together. Eddie was very good at what he did, however.
It’s Jimi or Stevie Ray Vaughn for me but Eddie is probably my 3rd choice…
No. Different music has to have different lists. Blues, thrash metal, rock, etc. Rock, he is on the Mount Rushmore.
EVH is one of those guys I wouldn’t put in my top 5, perhaps not my top 10. I’m not saying I’m not wrong in that opinion, he’s just not my favorite. Interesting dude though, I love how he was always tinkering with his gear and building the guitars he heard in his head.
I think EVH was a talented musician, he was innovative and was extremely influential. I don't think he was the best though. I can think of several guitarist that were all of the things I said about him. Doesn't detract from the fact he was skilled af.
He's in my top 3 which consists of Hendrix, EVH, and Iommi.
Too subjective But he would be at the top of a list of who I think is the greatest guitar player ever .
Ofc
G.O.A.T.
As far as mixing feel and technique and being part of a band that released so many iconic songs that helped define a cultural era, I would say he is at least tied with Hendrix. But for my money Paco de Lucia is the best player of all time.
Angus then Eddie but that’s only one man’s opinion
One of the greatest guitarists of all time yes.
No. I was hoping that after Dave he would breech out to other projects.That did not happen. They hired Sammy and continued down the FM rock radio thing.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Beethoven,Bach,Mozart & Edward Van Halen ✅
I think of guitarists from this perspective: at the time of their introduction to the masses, what was the general guitar climate? For Hendrix (in 1966) to have such a realized vision - at a time surf music ruled, and distorted guitar sounds were a new concept? Mind boggling. The same for EVH in 1978, I’d say those 2 changed the way everyone plays guitar.
No
Yes, as a rock guitarist. For sure the most influential. Simple as that for me.
The whole "greatest" thing is a bad game. EVH definitely transformed guitar playing in a way that only a handful of guitarists have done before or since.
For me, he’s definitely the GOAT!
Mine All Mine solo is criminally underrated and IMO Eddie’s best of the Sammy era. I love it and it’s a banger of an opening song.
Not even top 5.
One of the greatest.. I feel it’s so hard to compare because different genres, styles, etc.. He’s up there tho.
Along with Pat Metheny, yes.
Old dude here, was around when Jimi was big, jaw dropped when I first heard “Eruption” (I can take you to the exact spot almost 50 years later 😅), and I’ve played guitar for nearly 50 years. I think “best” has a lot of recency bias built-in, and “first” is also a big factor to some people. Jimi probably could never have played EVH’s solos, but EVH stood on the shoulders of giants (like Jimi) to get where he was. And with all that said, I think it’s a tie between those two.
If he was the greatest, why did he ask ask Alice Cooper to get him guitar lessons from Glen Cambell? Which he did.
I agree with eruption, when I heard that as a freshman in high school, totally blew me away!!!!!!!
There is no greatest guitarist of all time. If that were true, it would leave no more room for exploration and creativity 🤘
One of… yeah, for sure.
The thing about Eddie is that it wasn’t just the great guitar solos, but he also wrote fantastic songs. There are great technical guitar wizards out there who may play all kinds of unbelievable solos, but did they write as great songs with the feel that Eddie does on guitar? The greatest guitarist should not just be about guitar solos.
The thing with Eddie Van Halen, is that as incredibly complex his music was to play...when you saw him play live, he did it effortlessly. I don't think he even looked at his fretboard but a few times.
My top 3, along with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Brian Setzer . But Eddie is most innovative
Andrew Latimer from the band CAMEL 🐫
No bc Gary Moore exists
He's not prince
I mean who hasn’t tried learning Eruption in guitar class as a teen
Not Better than Hendrix or Jimmy Page IMO but he’s no. 3 in my book
No, but I dig the hell out of his playing!
No. He is not. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ed. But I’ve been playing guitar 47 years and I’ve studied dozens and dozens of other players. As far as sheer, raw, technical ability, he’s right up there, but his repertoire is limited. For instance, he can’t play country, swing, jazz, western, flamenco, etc. He’s not a qualified studio musician either. As far as rock guitar is concerned, he’s one of the best ever. But best in the world? Sorry, but no.
No, but he's awesome!
No, but he might have been at the time. And he probably made the most impact of any guitarist, which is more important from a historical standpoint.
Surely one of them.
In my opinion no but he is always going to be at the front of the pack. He was innovative in his genre, but randy Rhodes was just a few months behind him making a mark in rock n roll.
Maybe I needed to see the guy live or something but I never got it. As a non-guitar playing only played keys dude I always felt Santana, Hendrix, Garcia, Beck, Prince, Frusciante, Zappa much more so he’s well out of my top 5 and there’s more I can’t think of now. I like him and early VH a lot just never heard anything that made me super excited about Eddie. I’m not real into Clapton or Page even so it’s probably just my tastes since that’s his main influences.
He’s top 15
No. But then there's no such thing. Best of this or that is pointless.
Everybody wants somebody to be top of the heap, #1, GOAT, whatever. Sorry kids, Eric Clapton took the title long ago.
No, Hendrix has that spot
No.
Hendrix is the GOAT.
No. One the best sure. Brain may thinks Eddie is amazing. He’s like the Kieth moon of guitar the very best in that style. One of the last greats to be sure.
Many others that I prefer
No jimmy page is the best.
Eddie changed guitar. In the wake of EVH all rock guitarists either tried to ape his techniques or devote themselves to learning all his chops. The brown sound has never really been replicated accurately, to my ears anyway. But besides the recordings, Eddie had star power. Like Jimmy Page. Charisma and stage presence to match DLR, no easy feat! And after Eddie? What guitarist ever brought that star power again? Kurt Cobain and Jack White kept guitar popular during the heights of their respective popularity and…hanging my head..gagging..T Swift is bringing the guitar to the attention of..(throwing up)..Swifties. But obviously none of these artists brought the virtuosity along with the popularity. Long reign King Edward!
Hard to argue otherwise, but almost everyone who picks up the instrument after a player of his calibre emerges will draw comparison in some form. Greatest? I'll probably never pick a greatest or a best...or even a favourite, but he's definitely a favourite.
Never liked the “greatest” arguments. All of the greats are an amalgamation of a lot of other players. Eddie could certainly make a guitar do amazing things, so could Beck, Page, Blackmore, Gallagher, Lifeson, Howe, Fripp and a lot of others that came before him. As the poster above stated, Eddie is in the rarified air of the pantheon of the masters for sure.
Greatest rock guitarist, absolutely. Yes. Even better and more influential than Jimi Hendrix. Greatest guitarist generally speaking, no. People like Joe Pass, Alan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, Matteo Mancuso, etc. exist.