Top Ten lists (boredom has taken over)

I have always enjoyed doing various top ten lists and they are never as much fun without people critiquing and analyzing them. My first top ten list will be dealing with my favorite subject...music

Top Ten Guitarists

1. Jimi Hendrix--What else needs to be said the man completely innovated the instrument and did many things that were waaaay before his time. Although he fell victim to the vices and excess of the time period he still transcends time today and speaks to people of any age with his profound ability and talent.
   
2. Duane Allman--Another great that was taken way too young. Just being a member of the Allman Brothers Band is enough to make this man a legend but he also played on Derek and the Dominoes which is one of the greatest albums of all time and was featured on greats such as Wilson Pickett's excellent version of "Hey Jude" and Aretha Franklin's rendition of The Band classic "The Weight"
3. Eric Clapton--What else can really be said about Slowhand that hasn't been said already? His music has continued to evolve over time but I have never found anything of Clapton's that I haven't enjoyed
4. Robert Johnson--I haven't recently become a big fan of the Blues. Robert Johnson died at a very young age which coupled with the urban legend that he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in the Delta have made his stock grow. But beyond that his skills with the guitar were amazing.
5. Chuck Berry--I must say I have never been a huge fan of Berry...I have always been one who thinks that every riff of his sounds like the beginning of Johnny B Goode but upon further listening he is really much different than that. Plus I remember as a child listening to my dads Chuck Berry cassette and singing along to "My Ding-a-Ling" oh the joys of being an innocent child.
6. Stevie Ray Vaughan--Another guitarists that I haven't given much credit to over the years. I once made the quote that Vaughan is "nothing but an imitator getting rich off of Hendrix's songs". Oh could I have been any further from correct. Yes he has covered a few Hendrix tunes (His version of "Little Wing" is awesome because though it is instrumental it still feels like every word is being sung") But he was a brilliant musician who really played from his heart.
7. George Harrison--My second favorite Beatle (I have always been a big Ringo fan) has played on some of the best songs I have ever heard. My Guitar Gently Weeps is a deep song that has a lot of soul to it and nothing is cooler than being in a love triangle with another great musician as he was with Eric Clapton (inspired my fav song "Layla")
8. Mark Knopfler--I routinely get hassled for this selection but I have been a big Dire Straits fan for some time now. He is a classic example of Fingerpicking which I feel adds a whole new element to his sound. The song "Sultans of Swing" is definitely a great guitar groove song.
9. Derek Trucks--This man has kept the Allman Brothers Band on the forefront of music in this decade of Crap (that's really the only word I can find for the music coming out these days.)
10. Robbie Robertson--guitarist from The Band. His music is just awesome and another plus for him is he was part of the backing band for Bob Dylan's first electric tour in 1966.

Honorable Mentions: Jack White (White Stripes), Warren Haynes, Ry Cooder, John Lennon

Not on the List: The Edge (really who thinks this guy, or his band U2, is really even that good)