Who are some of the better musicians that play acoustic guitar?
 

I'm in the process of getting an acoustic guitar, and when I do, I'll be printing out the replies in my other thread and referring to them often.

In the meantime, I've been watching acoustic guitar videos on You Tube and that made me desire actual audio recordings by good acoustic guitar players. I've been most impressed by Carlos Vamos, but my exposure to acoustic guitar players has been very limited to date.

Thus, if you could recommend some, it would be greatly appreciated. It would be even better if the acoustic guitar is the primary instrument, as I really enjoy the sound and would like to start listening more to acoustic guitars in general.

Thanks!

After seeing them live many times.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Without a doubt!

A few of my faves:
Richard Thompson
Bruce Cockburn
Jorma Kaukonen
Mike Keneally (especially his album Wooden Smoke)
or if you're into lots of notes, The California Guitar Trio
Robert Earl Keen has Rich Brotherton in his band, so there's always good acoustic going on in his songs
John Peacock
Nick Drake

Tommy Emmanuel. Enough said.

Ok, so maybe you want a few others... ;) Also check out Pete Huttlinger, Paco de Lucia, Andy McKee...

I second Paco de Lucia. But also check out Davey Graham for a good range of genres and inspiration.

Django.

Um, he said "better," not "best".... :uhh:

After seeing them a few times I totally agree with the suggestion of Rodrigo y Gabriela - stunning playing, in particular Gabriela's relaxed but insanely controlled right hand strumming/drumming. They have some nice online lessons knocking around.

Also - a couple of English oldies not yet mentioned.

Nick Drake - incredibly inventive use of tunings (B E B E B E is my fave!) - great RH picking style. Some of the most beautiful music written in the last 60 years.

Bert Jansch - fantastic picking. If you can play Anji note-perfect and up to speed you can consider yourself a competent guitarist :)

Trace Bundy uses a crazy amount of capos, all sorts of harmonics and just a total talent for the guitar.

Every time I've seen Al DiMeola play, I've been amazed. He does a fair amount of stuff on acoustic.

There's also some truly insane videos on Youtube of Joe Maphis playing acoustic. That man was like a machine on any guitar he played.

No one has mentioned Andy McKee yet?!

Michael Hedges (RIP) - takes it to whole different level, though his later records sound sort of crappy.

Leo Kotke (Kottke?) - solid american traditionalist

Will Ackerman - Tries to be the next Leo Kotke. Can be a little bland when he does duets with other musicians, though.

Bumping this thread in the hopes of finding more recommendations on par with Rodrigo y Gabriela, Paco de Lucia, and Django. I find their playing to be amazing, technically as well as musically.

I really enjoy the Spanish/Latin acoustic guitar vibe. It's a type of music I've not been exposed to previously, and I think it's both refreshing and enjoyable to listen to. If anyone has similar recommendations, I'd appreciate it.

What genre would you put Rodrigo y Gabriela and Paco de Lucia in.. Flamenco? I've been doing a bit of searching online and that genre came up a bit. I'm admittedly unfamiliar, but do enjoy the type of music being played.

Phil Keaggy

Leo Kottke does it for me........guy is awesome

Tenacious D.
Phil Keaggy.
John 5 (iknow he is mostly electric, but he can manhandle an acoustic better than most acoustic players).

Two Ts. Kottke.

My guitarist brother was a big fan.

Eric Clapton!!!!! MY FAV! and in my eyes THE BEST!!! even though he's not really an acoustic guitar player, but every guitar player had to start somewhere...but i read this article by Tony Hogan and i would like to share a quote from that article with you...

"it’s not about how brilliant you are it’s about waht you get out of it. There are always going to be players arguing about McLaughlin, Brij Bhushan Kabra, Pat Martino, John Williams and the greats that have moved on like Hendrix or Segovia but how do you compare players of different styles, what criteria do you use for judging,… and in the end music is about feelings isn’t it, not about being flashy so that handful of players will say you are fantastic and everyone else says ‘That doesn’t even sound like music."

The best advice would just be to let your music be an extension of you. because in essence all musicians are GREAT in their own right and you may learn a few things from them, but watching them is not going to make you great, only you are!

Nobody said Steve Howe?

When Queen wanted someone to play some accoustic guitar on Innuendo (because, you know, Brian May's not so good at playing the guitar, is he) they brought in SH.

He's very good.

i like derek bailey (r.i.p.)


and i like the ukelele orchestra of great britian when they play the theme from shaft, too

which may be a digression.

Peter Rowan & Tony Rice

Chet Atkins, Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie.

Check out some of the lists that acoustic players have compiled & posted at The Acoustic Guitar Forum.

I like John Renbourn.

Monte Montgomery - one of the best I've ever heard. Check him out

I like this thread and consider it to be very worthwhile due to the many quality recommendations, so I'm going to bump it and attempt to get even more.

I formatted my hard drive recently, and in the process, my back-up external as well (oops!). Thus, I've lost quite a bit of music, but consider this a nice opportunity to start anew.

Lately I've been enjoying the music by Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley. Can anyone recommend musicians similar to them in style?

If I could contribute my own recommendation it would be The Tallest Man on Earth, also known as Kristian Matsson. He has a very unique voice; almost sounds a bit like a young Bob Dylan.

Zakk Wylde.

Eric Clapton
Tears in Heaven and Knocking on Heavens door

I've refrained from responding to this thread because my most admired acoustic guitar player is a local guy who will probably never see the light of day. Literally. I rarely see him out before dark. But after this weekend I just have to let you guys know about him:

Dave Cousar (Archer Records - Memphis, Tennessee)

I've known him for years and have played music with him on occasion. He is really an amazing guitar player. If you get a chance to see him, especially solo, you should go for it. I suspect that if he ever gets off his ass and finishes the record he'll be touring. The best place to see him, in my opinion, is in Memphis on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning (starting sometime around midnight) at The Buccaneer. Especially in winter when the only light in the bar is from the fireplace. It's transcendental.

I really like Kaki King.

(the video quality isn't great, but the sound is decent)

Manitas de Plata and his son, Tonino Baliardo.

What he said.

--jaded

Leo Kotke is really good. "My Feet Are Smilng" is his first and best album.

ditto: kaki king; leo kottke; michael hedges; search "slap guitar" on the ubiqutous 'tube' and you''ll get some pretty interesting and amazing inspiration...

Building off of derwood, here is one that i posted in my bluegrass thread:

David Grier, Wyatt Rice and Kenny Smith. Badass. They can all tear it up:

Andy has to be the best acoustic guitar player alive right now.

---------- Post added at 12:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:37 AM ----------

Pretty much any body on the Candyrat label (CANdYRAT Records) is eligible. Incredible rhythmic artists. Really know how to 'play' the guitar.

Hands down, Joe Pass. After that, these guys:






I also highly recommend checking out some of the new stuff from Don Ross and Dafour... really cool: