[MrSandMan]

Do you think Slash is currently the top 5 guitarist in the world right now? He seems to be everywhere right now, from GuitarCenter to GuitarWorld gushing all over him. +Plus with his new Appetite for Destruction Gibson coming out, he seems to be widely promoted - more-so than any other guitarist.

Who do you consider to be the CURRENT top 5 guitarists right now?

[scottywompas]

Joe Bonnamossa is more current.

If your talking shredders there's a ton of them out there. Probably too many to name. I think the thing with Slash is he's unique. He does his thing and he manages to keep himself relevant in the guitar universe.

Scott

[MrSandMan]

I agree his style is very unique. I like that he's not a shredder. His solo's seem to come more from the heart and less from the fingers, imo.

Not bashing shredding, just never connected with the extreme technical shred stuff personally.

[Redline68]

Slash is OK, but I am absolutely sick of seeing him and that stupid hat everywhere I look. The guy is on every mag, in every guitar shop, and in every toy aisle.

[MrSandMan]

Say whaata?

[speakerjones]

In terms of popularity? Maybe. He's definitely experiencing a lot of attention lately between his autobiography, Guitar Hero, a new solo album, etc. He probably has a really good publicist and management.

In terms of playing ability? No way. Even if we're not talking on a technical level, there are many more prolific players out there. Not knockin' him too much, he's a great player. Just not top 5 material. IMO, of course.

[MrSandMan]

Just curious and probably a hard question to answer but who do you rank as your top 5 currently?

[speakerjones]

Of guys that I would call current (not my old school guitar heroes like Gilmour, Hendrix, Page, or Townsend), in no particular order:

1. Josh Homme (QOTSA, Them Crooked Vultures)
2. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
3. Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers)
4. Derek Trucks (Allman Bros, DTB)
5. Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs)