"This is not a list that ranks who can play the fastest or with the most taste, feeling or technique (although many players on our list have all of those arrows in their quiver), It is, rather, a tribute to the great men who shit iron and piss stainless steel razor blades, and do it every time they plug into an amplifier."

The list is as follows:

1. Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH)
2. Kirk Hammett & James Hetfield (METALLICA)
3. Angus & Malcolm Young (AC/DC)
4. Randy Rhoads (OZZY OSBOURNE)
5. Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN)
6. Jimmy Page (LED ZEPPELIN)
7. Dimebag Darrell (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN)
8. Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)
9. Adam Jones (TOOL)
10. Kerry King & Jeff Hanneman (SLAYER)
11. Dave Murray & Adrian Smith (IRON MAIDEN)
12. Jimi Hendrix
13. Glen Tipton & K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST)
14. Ace Frehley & Paul Stanley (KISS)
15. Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)
16. Ritchie Blackmore (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW)
17. Yngwie Malmsteen
18. Joe Perry & Brad Whitford (AEROSMITH)
19. Dave Mustaine & Marty Friedman (MEGADETH)
20. Chuck Schuldiner (DEATH)
21. Brian May (QUEEN)
22. Michael Schenker (MSG, UFO)
23. Nigel Tufnel (SPINAL TAP)
24. Jeff Beck
25. Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)
26. Head & Munky (KORN)
27. John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER)
28. Kim Thayil (SOUNDGARDEN)
29. Vivian Campbell (DEF LEPPARD)
30. Daron Malakian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN)
31. Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
32. Tom G. Warrior (CELTIC FROST)
33. Chris Degarmo & Michael Wilton (QUEENSRŸCHE)
34. C.C. Deville
35. Marten Hagström & Fredrik Thorndendal (MESHUGGAH)
36. Alex Lifeson (RUSH)
37. Paul Gilbert (MR. BIG, RACER X)
38. Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
39. Mantas (VENOM)
40. Jason Becker (DAVE LEE ROTH)
41. Phil Collen & Steve Clarke (DEF LEPPARD)
42. Mikael Åkerfeldt & Peter Lindgren (OPETH)
43. Fast Eddie Clarke (MOTÖRHEAD)
44. Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME)
45. Warren DeMartini (RATT)
46. Mick Mars (MÖTLEY CRÜE)
47. George Lynch (DOKKEN)
48. Ted Nugent
49. Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE, BADLANDS)
50. Rudolf Schenker & Uli John Roth (SCORPIONS)
51. Oystein "Euronymous" Aarseth (MAYHEM)
52. Scott Gorham & Brian Robertson (THIN LIZZY)
53. Steve Vai (DAVE LEE ROTH)
54. Reb Beach (WINGER, DOKKEN)
55. Trey Azagthoth (MORBID ANGEL)
56. John Sykes (THIN LIZZY, BLUE MURDER)
57. Hank Shermann & Michael Denner (MERCYFUL FATE)
58. Richie Sambora (BON JOVI)
59. Jon Donais & Matt Backhand (SHADOWS FALL)
60. Stephen Carpenter (DEFTONES)
61. Alex Skolnick & Eric Peterson (TESTAMENT)
62. Brian Tatler (DIAMOND HEAD)
63. John Christ (DANZIG)
64. Scott "Wino" Weinrich (THE OBSESSED)
65. Pepper Keenan & Woody Weatherman (C.O.C.)
66. Tommy Victor (PRONG)
67. Leslie West (MOUNTAIN)
68. Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR)
69. Glen Buxton & Michael Bruce (ALICE COOPER)
70. Bjorn Gelotte & Jesper Stromblad (IN FLAMES)
71. Jim Matheos (FATES WARNING)
72. Gary Holt & Rick Hunolt (EXODUS)
73. Donald Buck Dharma Roeser (BLUE ÖYSTER CULT)
74. Michael Amott (ARCH ENEMY)
75. Robert Fripp (KING CRIMSON)
76. Andre Olbrich (BLIND GUARDIAN)
77. Joe Satriani
78. Frank Hannon & Tommy Skeoch (TESLA)
79. Ty Tabor (KING'S X)
80. Mark Morton & Will Adler (LAMB OF GOD)
81. Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY)
82. Pete Townshend (THE WHO)
83. Jon Schaffer (ICED EARTH)
84. Timo Tolkki (STRATOVARIUS)
85. Neil Young
86. Abbath Doom Occulta (IMMORTAL)
87. Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY)
88. Uffe Cederlund & Alex Hellid (ENTOMBED)
89. Leigh Stephens (BLUE CHEER)
90. Jim Martin (FAITH NO MORE)
91. Michael Romeo (SYMPHONY X)
92. Bill Steer (CARCASS)
93. Piggy (VOIVOD)
94. Tony Bourge (BUDGIE)
95. Sammy Hagar (VAN HALEN)
96. Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM)
97. Akira Takasaki (LOUDNESS)
98. Michael Angelo
99. John Kay & Michael Monarh (STEPPENWOLF)
100. Nick Bowcott (GRIM REAPER)

Sure the Metallica douches shouldnt be #2 and thoes nu-metal people should not have even made the list but I'm happy Abbath, Bill Steer, and Chuck made it. And why the fuck isnt Bill Steer and Michael Ammot togher? Sure Arch Enemy is dandy but they will never write anything even close to as good as the "Necroticism" album. Oh, Tom G. Warrior made it too...

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wow im fucking impressed!!
they actually have good people chuck, trey(even if hes 55..), ect the last one they had was just filled with a bunch of dumb fucks

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good list, and it's good that they gave that disclaimer too or else, it wouldn't make sense (come on, Korn guys better than John Petrucci? please)

they have a few bands that aren't metal on there, a few bands that totally suck too, but overall good list.

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hahahahahaha what a great man

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im rather impressed by this list. i figured the top would be people from bush, creed, etc.

good to see stratovarius and the like up there.

Good list, horrible arrangment.

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when i read tghe topic title, i sorta expected the list to be aranged in popular order...

for some reason it did... (but not as much as most lists would lol)

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the slayer guys and the tool guy are too high up, but a good list though

Its says at the top that its not in ranks.... just a list, I think the people on all warant being on it, as they all (in some from or other [whether we like it or not]) contributed to metal.

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I think Slayer should be higher. From Show No Mercy all the way to Divine Intervention no band has put out such a massive huge track record of meatlness, or something.

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if you talk about pure metal, yes.

skill as a guitarist, meh. most of King's solo's sound like he's having a seizure. his riffing is great though. everyone's opinion to his own though, I'm not a big slayer fan I guess

still don't get what that Tool guy is doing up there, what the hell?

i guess im kinda confused with all of this "X should be higher than Y".. i got the impression that this was an unranked list? #1 isn't better than #100, it's just a big list of all the guys worthy to be considered the best metal guitarists?

Adam Jones, though lacking in skill, makes very good riffage. From agressive to phsycedelic he does it all. But I do think he is too high up.

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Read the intro, its not about skill dummy. Its about writing and playing amazing metal riffs.

King's solos on Show No Mercy, Seasons in the Abyss, and Huanting the Chapel were amazing but most of his other soloing suck especialy his recent homoerotic Kirk Hammet like use of wah.

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All these top guitar player lists are just to show whose popular. I mean hell my top ten would be different then everyone’s, but its just a big popularity contest in these magazines.

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Agreed. Also, I can't believe they put they guy from tool so far up.

once again.. isn't this list unranked? am i stupid or are u guys? lol.

well to each his own, I'm not much of a slayer fan, I don't think of their riffs as 'amazing' but I guess they where really influencial though.

and that tool guy, I saw tool live and wasn't impressed, sounded like random crap to me, buts thats a matter of opinion.

overall i think it's not a bad list.

96. Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM).
Not only does he rip, he sings while doing it. now THATS talent. Alexi > All

If its a "tribute to the great men who shit iron and piss stainless steel razor blades...." Then why are the korn kid on the list??? This list pisses me off just as much as any other list... they have the right players... just the order fuckin sucks

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I suppose they gotta have a lot of mainstream guys in the list because Guitar World is a mainstream magazine. They couldn't just fill the list with Death/Grind/Thrash/Extreme Metal guitarists even though they are the guys who can claim more than most to shit iron and piss stainless steel razor blades. This is because the majority of people who buy Guitar World would complain about the absence of Jimmy Page or the Korn guys.

How good would it be if there was a specific Extreme Metal guitar magazine that gave us a monthly fix of complex tabs, real lists of Best Extreme Metal Guitarist/Band/etc and good technical interviews with real talented musicians? I'd buy it every month anyway.

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Exactly fucking right.

Displacer put out a paper mag for a few issues. It had like super high quality tabs in it, which now can be found the never-updated site.

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i agree with the list and that there good guitar players but theres a few that arent mettal guitarest

As far as corporate whores are concerned, bands like korn and limp bizkit and (blimey!) linking park are metal, just because they are a bit louder than average pop bands. Real metal bands are ignored, because they dont sell enough. For corporate whores, if it doesnt sell, it doesnt excist. So in that vision, korn is "extreme metal"

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