1. Kurt Cobain
Although Kurt Cobain was a phenomenal song writer, and he really understood how to put music together. He was not that great a guitar player. His riffs were often very repetitive and simplistic. When he would actually perform a solo, it usually was nothing but random notes that were replicated from the riff that he already has played before the solo. Kurt Cobain also only played power chords on all of his songs, and there would only be about one or two changes in chords on his songs.
2. John Lennon
John Lennon really understood music and he was actually a rather decent musician. And I would even go as far as saying that he was a musical genius. However he was not the most skilled guitar player of all the time. He knew a lot of music about theory, and he knew a lot of different chords on the guitar. But his ability did not match very well with what he knew about the guitar.
3. Keith Richards
Kieth Richards is with out a doubt the king of riffs. But does that make his riffs actually skilled? He often played many of the same chords and patterns and just made them sound slightly different. Now he did know how to make a catchy riff that made people remember the the riff for years after it was made. But the skill level that he was playing was very low, and he has admitted to that himself.
4. The Edge
The Edge is definitely a sonic genius and he is very good at making a simple lick sound more complicated than it actually is, but his guitar playing is sub par. The Edge uses a lot of pedals in order to make the riff and/or lick that he is playing sound more awesome.
5. Pat Smear
Pat Smear has had the good fortune of being with three great bands. The Bands that has been apart of is: Germs, Nirvana, and the Foo Fighters. I guess the reason for that is because Darby Crash, Kurt Cobain, and Dave Grohl believed that he was a good guitar player, but he only follows everything that the lead guitar player is playing or he plays a very simple riff and has it backed up by the other guitar players, passing it off as good.
6. Johnny Ramone
Johnny Ramone is far better than almost any other Punk Rock player, because Punk Rock music is nothing but a few chords played in a very fast motion. That does not mean that he is a great guitar player. If he did not have the pedals and amps then his riffs would sound very boring and plan.
7. Angus Young
All of Angus Young’s riffs and licks sounded exactly the same. If you were to listen to the album “Back In Black,” it would be like listening to a 42 minuet long song. All his riffs are just played very loudly and hard, making it sound better than it actually is if it was on a acoustic guitar.
8. Jack white
Jack White is another person that is great at making catchy and remember-able riffs, that are not that skilled. Most of his songs are the same three chords: C,G,D, in that order. He uses a pedal in order to make what he is playing sound a lot cooler and more complex.
9. Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood is a very important piece in Radiohead and he can play a variety of instruments, but his guitar playing is very mediocre. He knows how to make weird sounds with the guitar, that comes off as cool sounding but is nothing but a few different notes on an amp.
10. Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads only played simple guitar scale that are taught when you first learn guitar just very quickly.
