while i'm sure les paul is nowhere near the best guitarist EVAH, his name is on the guitar, so that's gotta be worth something (also, mary ain't no slouch herself). here's some fun riffing between les and mary from way back.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Df09Sodpk
1954
Great pull, hj. With the guitar I think it's pretty hard to pick a greatest ever, simply because of how integral the guitar is in so many different genres of music, and because of how many different styles of guitar playing there are in those genres. It's pretty hard to compare Herb Ellis to Tom Morello or Freddie King, for example, or to say that one of those guys is the better guitarist. I do think this Top 50 list is pretty fun for stirring up conversation, first because it gets guys like Joe Pass, Andrés Segovia, and Doc Watson in the conversation (these lists are normally dominated by rock guitarists - just look at Rolling Stone's list, which completely ignores jazz), second because it has clips you can watch to get a taste of each guitarist's style, and third because there are some pretty significant upsets. There are also some pretty high profile snubs.
The way Les plays guitar reminds me of hip-hop DJs doing scratches. Taking sound device so far beyond what it was originally designed to do.
Oh, and James Blackshaw impresses the hell out of me with his guitar playing:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AF7P4MXP-I
I had no idea Les had a comedy gig...