You’ve inevitably heard the key track on that album, “Cliffs of Dover”, somewhere, somehow, I guarantee. More about Doc Watson > Honorable Mention: Eric JohnsonĮric Johnson made his name as the consummate electric guitarist with his Grammy Award wining album, “Ah Via Musicom”. His genius wasn’t just on guitar, but he played banjo, harmonica, and sang. Check out Travis rocking this tune, “Cannonball Rag”, with nothing but a thumbpick and his index finger.Īmerican Grammy-winning guitarist who profoundly influenced bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and more when he came on the scene in the 60’s. His career covered so much material, it’s impossible to sum up in a few short sentences, but his playing, his friendship with Chet Atkins, and his popular songs make him one of the “godfathers” of fingerstyle guitar playing. His name defines one of the key techniques of fingerstyle guitar: Travis picking (the thumb striking alternating bass strings in order to mimic a bass player).
If you want to dive into jazz, this is your man. Martin Taylor fills a distinct role in the fingerstyle guitar universe with his expertise in fingerstyle jazz. Check out his tune, “ Affirmation“, from his most recent album, “Play Pretty for the People”. He also runs an online fingerstyle guitar school called Study With Adam. If you read his excellent blog, you’ll quickly discover he’s a fan of groove, melody, and connecting with the audience. Performer, composer, teacher – Adam Rafferty is an American guitarist specializing in “funky fingerstyle”. More about Igor Presnyakov > Adam Rafferty Check out his cover of Michael Jackson’s “ Beat It“. Despite having dozens of videos with millions of views each, his albums are few and relatively recent. Despite having a long career in Russia and then in the Netherlands, YouTube became his launch vehicle to a wider audience in 2007. Igor Presnyakov is a Russian, classically-trained guitarist who also came to fame on YouTube. There’s lots of songs to check out from McKee, but his cover of “ Everybody Wants to Rule The World” is a personal favorite of mine. Often cited, along with Tommy Emmanuel, at the top of “favorite fingerstyle guitar player” lists. A young American player on the CandyRat Records label, McKee has consistently delivered good-natured, prodigy-level acoustic guitar playing in recent years. It’s almost too much for one man.Īndy McKee came to popular renown through his astounding YouTube videos. More InfoĪdrian Legg spent a number of years as a guitar technician, wrote for guitar publications, helped design and launch acoustic guitar amps, AND is a genre-bending, technically acute composer and performer. To get a run-down of his style, check out these lessons from Muriele Anderson focused directly on Chet’s playing and songs. There’s a lot of material to choose from when listening to Chet, but a popular song to start with is “ Windy and Warm”. Chet Atkins is often quoted as a prime inspiration by contemporary players, particularly Tommy Emmanuel. One of the “Great Ones” of fingerstyle guitar, Atkins took “Travis picking” (see Merle Travis further down the list) and turned it into an entire genre of country-based, jazz-flavored, fingerstyle genius. Thanks! Here We Go… Chet Atkins (1924 – 2001) If that’s the case, please:Īdd other worthy players to the comments below so that the list is truly complete. But even with that disclaimer, it’s very likely that you may disagree, want to add or subtract a player. In fact, I’m not sure that’s even possible. I couldn’t bring myself to try to rank them. Here are the top 25 fingerstyle guitar players, presented in alphabetical order.
I’m not sure it’s possible to definitively say who are THE best 25 fingerstyle guitar players in the world.