Queen's Brian May responds to being named the greatest guitarist of all time
He lists his favourite guitarists
Queen’s Sir Brian May has responded to being named the greatest guitarist of all time in a recent poll.
Back in January, Total Guitar magazine asked their readers to vote for their favourite guitarist, and Brian May topped the poll ahead of the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour.
In a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show to promote Queen + Adam Lambert’s newly announced North American tour, Brian May was asked if he agrees with Total Guitar’s list.
Instead of taking too many plaudits, Brian named his own favourite guitarists and even heaped praise on less ‘technical’ players like late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
"I take everything like that with a pinch of salt, really, because cause you can't say who's best,” Brian said. “The nice thing about guitar playing is that everybody's different. You can't really rank people. Of course, I've got my favourites too. But the fact that people put me in that position makes me smile. It's a lovely feeling.
"I'm not in the first million guitarists in the world; I know that. There's people I listen to every day that do things that I could never do."
Praising his favourite guitarists, Brian continued: "I listen to Nuno Bettencourt and I just smile because it's so beautiful and it's so way out of what I could ever do. It doesn't bother me, 'cause I don't feel in competition. I just love the guy and I love what he does.
“Same with Jeff Beck. Same with Ed Van Halen. We worked together, and it was the most wonderful experience. My jaw dropped every time he touched the strings. It was just beautiful.
"There are so many wonderful guitarists. Steve Vai is just colossal, beautiful. And of course I still have my old heroes. Eric Clapton is still my hero. Jimi Hendrix is still my hero. Of course — it's always gonna be that way. Jeff Beck, to me, is something so exceptional and outside anything you could have imagined."
Insisting that guitarists shouldn’t be ranked alongside each other, Brian added: "I don't think any guitarist should feel like they have anything to prove. It's not a competition.
“Kurt Cobain is a great example. There's not a lot of technical stuff there, and he didn't work that hard at being technical, and yet he gives us a legacy of some of the greatest guitar music of all time. So it's not about technique. It's about what you put into it and what you feel and how that feeling gets across in your guitar playing."
Queen + Adam Lambert’s North American tour kicks off in Maryland on 4th October 2023.
Earlier this month, Brian May was knighted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace for his services to music and charity work.
The greatest guitar solos ever, as voted by Planet Rock listeners:
75) Pink Floyd – ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
74) Iron Maiden – ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ (1982)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
73) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Paradise City’ (1987)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
72) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Estranged’ (1991)
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71) Bon Jovi – ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ (1986)
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70) Iron Maiden – ‘Powerslave’ (1984)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
69) UFO – ‘Lights Out’ (1977)
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68) Neil Young – ‘Like a Hurricane’ (1977)
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67) Judas Priest – ‘Beyond The Realms of Death’ (1978)
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66) Free – ‘All Right Now’ (1970)
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65) Extreme – ‘Play With Me’(1989)
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64) AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’ (1981)
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63) UFO – ‘Love To Love’ (1977)
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62) Led Zeppelin – ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (1969)
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61) Eric Johnson – ‘Cliffs of Dover’ (1990)
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60) Stevie Ray Vaughn – ‘Little Wing’ (1984, released posthumously in 1991)
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59) Pearl Jam – ‘Alive’ (1991)
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58) Metallica – ‘Nothing Else Matters’ (1991)
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57) Fleetwood Mac – ‘The Chain’ (1977)
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56) Dragonforce – ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ (2005)
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55) Thin Lizzy – ‘Emerald’ (1976)
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54) Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’ (1985)
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53) Steve Vai – ‘For the Love of God’ (1990)
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52) Deep Purple – ‘Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming’ (1996)
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51) AC/DC – ‘Thunderstruck’ (1990)
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50) Rainbow – ‘Gates of Babylon’ (1977)
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49) Metallica – ‘The Unforgiven’ (1991)
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48) Rush – ‘La Villa Strangiato’ (1978)
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47) Pantera – ‘Cemetery Gates’ (1990)
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46) Pink Floyd – ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ (1975)
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45) Dire Straits – ‘Telegraph Road’ (1982)
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44) Peter Frampton – ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (2003)
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43) Slash – ‘Anastasia’ (2012)
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42) The Beatles – ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (1968)
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41) Pink Floyd – ‘Time’ (1973)
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40) Genesis – ‘Firth of Fifth’ (1973)
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39) Deep Purple – ‘Smoke on the Water’ (1972)
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38) AC/DC – ‘Let There Be Rock’ (1977)
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37) Megadeth – ‘Tornado of Souls’ (1990)
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36) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘No More Tears’ (1991)
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35) Metallica – ‘Fade To Black’ (1984)
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34) Marillion – ‘Easter’ (1990)
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33) Joe Bonamassa – ‘India / Mountain Time’ (2008)
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32) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Crazy Train’ (1980)
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31) Cream – ‘Crossroads’ (1968)
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30) AC/DC – ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ (1977)
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29) Led Zeppelin – ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ (1970)
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28) Queen – ‘Brighton Rock’ (1974)
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27) Metallica – ‘One’ (1989)
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26) Extreme – ‘Get The Funk Out’ (1990)
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25) Thin Lizzy – ‘Still In Love With You’ (1974)
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24) Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)
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23) The Jimi Hendrix Experience – ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ (1968)
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22) Joe Bonamassa – ‘Sloe Gin’ (2007)
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21) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Mr Crowley’ (1980)
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20) Derek & The Dominoes – ‘Layla’
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19) Gary Moore – ‘Still Got The Blues (For You)’ (1990)
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18) Prince - ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
17) Deep Purple – ‘Child in Time’ (1970)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
16) Bon Jovi – ‘Dry County’ (1992)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
15) The Jimi Hendrix Experience – ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (1967)
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14) Deep Purple – ‘Highway Star’ (1972)
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13) Gary Moore – ‘Parisienne Walkways’ (1979)
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12) UFO – ‘Rock Bottom’ (1974)
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11) Dire Straits – ‘Sultans of Swing’ (1978)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
10) Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975)
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9) Rainbow – ‘Stargazer’ (1976)
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8) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Sweet Child ‘O Mine’ (1987)
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7) Van Halen – ‘Eruption’ (1978)
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6) Guns N’ Roses – ‘November Rain’ (1991)
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5) Eagles – ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
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4) Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’ (1971)
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3) Alter Bridge – ‘Blackbird’ (2007)
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2) Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘Free Bird’ (1973)
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1) Pink Floyd – ‘Comfortably Numb’ (1979)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time