Why does Rolling Stone try?
Veering off the news path, here's Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, which is sure to start flame wars all across the internet.

Just like everyone else and their mother, I have a few gripes about this list. Before I start my bitching, I'll give you a brief background of my musical tastes: I love punk rock, old hardcore, power violence, and basically everything that's catchy and has a driving beat. I'm not into classic ock songs with the long, drawn out guitar solos and everything. Of course, that's not all that Ilike, and what I listen to really depends on the band who is playing it more than the genre, but I always find myself listening to bands like the Queers, Ramones, Screeching Weasel, Mr. T Experience, Minor Threat, A.C., Charles Bronson, Spazz, etc. My tastes don't dip too far into the mainstream.

With that said, I will also say that I have no clue how Rolling Stone is rating guitarists, what criteria they are using, and what they think makes a guitarist great. But the list still leaves me puzzled.

Johnny Ramone, one of the fastest guitarist who ever lived but could never do much with a uitar solo, is ranked 16. WTF? Johnny's playing and the influence it has had on mainstream music is undeniable, andmaybe that's what Rolling Stone was looking at, but many people think that Joe Queer from the Queers can play faster, and he can pulloff slick guitar solos to boot. I know that the Queers haven't had a hit, but bands like them, Screeching Weasel, Operation Ivy, and the Mr. T Experience ushered in a new era of punk rock, setting the foundation for bands like Green Day to make it big. That presenceis still felt today. So, if a guitarists influence is to be considered in determining their greatness, shouldn't we see Joe Queer, Dr. Frank of MTX, or Jughead from Screeching Weasel on the list? If we want to reach back a little farther for influence, how about Steve Jones fromt he Sex Pistols? Or Joe Strummer from the Clash? Or East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedys? Greg Ginn from Black Flag cracked the list at 99, so the list does pay attention to influential punk, so that leavesalot of question marks.

How the hell did wah-wah pedal abuser Tom Morello from Rage Aginst The Machine make it on the list? For the matter, what the hell is Jack White from the White Strips doing at number 17? He has, what, two albums under his belt, nothing that has really been spectacular, no solos in their singles and no really influence yet. Shouldn't guitarists on this list prove that they can stand the test of time?

Eddie Van Halen comes in at number 70. I'm not a big an, but I would have expected thathe would be in the top ten.

I admitt ha there's a lot of people on here that Ihave never heard of, an there's things that I agree with. Steve Cropper from Booker T and the MG's is 36, and he deserves that. B.B. King is number 3, maybe he should be a bit lower bit still deserves to be on there. But Kurt Cobain at number 12? Metallica's Kirk Hammett at number 11? Could theyhave picked a better metal guitarist, I'm sure there's a ton out there in bands that don't perpetually suck.

What do you think?