Who are your three favourite guitarists?

There's plenty of good answers before mine, so I'm just going to narrow it down to my 3 FAVORITE GUITARISTS, regardless if they're blues, rock, jazz, country, fusion, or otherwise. Most people who read this will know who I mean:

1. Jimi Hendrix (dead at 27)

2. Tommy Bolin (a total original, dead at 24)

3. Roy Buchanan (dead at 47)

What a shame these innovators, who had so much to offer, had their lives cut tragically short. Who knows where they may have headed had they lived longer??

Hendrix's legacy is still partially unknown, but he was clearly channeling something many guitarists don't understand. Lots of writer's claim he was simply following his "muse", an open channel to a different dimension. Thankfully, he left countless hours of unreleased material in just 4 short years.

Bolin was an unknown guitar force until the past decade. Only then did people realize he was the unknown picker on Billy Cobham's "Spectrum"and Alphonse Mouzon's "Mind Transplant".He was also Blackmore's replacement in Deep Purple, Joe Walsh's replacement in the James Gang, AND had two kickasss albums of solo work on top of that in a very short time span (1972-74).....plus a dozen of family approved 'official bootlegs' released, also in a condensed time period. Talk about a busy, but original set of paths! Bolin could've played anything from ballads to metal, with blues, hard rock, and R&B. He was a complete pro guitarist at 20.

Buchanan had an up and down solo career, was offered to join the Stones in 1975, but turned it down due to his insistance on being a solo artist, commercialism aside. He made some of the best pure guitar music (country or blues influenced) that players still use as a reference point to this day. His final albums, "When a Guitar Plays The Blues" and "Hot Wires" are influential on all Telecaster (and others) that followed.

There are a few more guitarist's I could namecheck, but the question only asked for 3. I'd like to keep this question fair, honest, and right to the point.

Guitarist: Tom Morello, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi. Drummers: John Bonham, Rick Allen, Abe Cunningham. Top: Jimmy Page & Keith Moon.

Only 3 .... phh ... I have at least 3 in any style

I guess the 3 I attempt to play the most are

1) Clapton - I've spent countless hours learning every solo of every Clapton song I love

2) Hendrix - I know all the riffs to almost every song he's written and countless guitar solos

3) EVH or SRV ... tough choice as I love both of em ... but I'll give it to EVH as his on stage performance is second 2 none ...

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No delta blues in the top three ... ouch ...

Sorry I know I'm cheating now

Top 3 old time delta blues players

Robert Johnson

Big Bill Broonzy

Blind Willie Johnson

Top 3 Chicago Blues (Oldie Electric Blues)

BB King

Freddie King

Buddy Guy

Top 3 British Revival Blues (60s English blues)

--- All from the same band, good ole' Yard Birds ---

Eric Clapton

Jeff Beck

Jimmy Page

Top 3 American Blues Guitarist

SRV

Duane Allman

Derek Trucks

....should I get into rock or jazz or classical ... No..no I've already turned my top 3 into a list of a dozen guitarist

Eric Clapton

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Eddie Van Halen

♥♥♥

Baby Gramps

Steve Vai

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Michael Hill

B B King

Steve Cropper

Muddy Waters

John Mayall

Peter Greene

Well for blues

T-Bone Walker

BB King

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Strong contenders are Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Albert King, Clapton, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush.

But you know for Rock/Metal they would have to be

Jimmy Page

Tony Lommi

Ritchie Blackmore

Johnny Winter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBcNOp0EZBc&feature...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4X_yMc1SZk

Duane Allman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FM2z79oo-8&feature...

Robbie Robertson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZeDvbyaJA4

I love their soul, man.

EDIT: Oh shitt... I just realized this is Blues, not R&P. Ok so my three faves are Johnny Winter (still), Magic Sam Meghett, and John Lee Hooker. I dig hooker for the same reason I dig Robbie Robertson: The music as a whole, not necessarily for the pure guitar work.

Slash, Joe Satriani and Eric Clapton