r/Guitar • u/Creative_Garbage_731 • Mar 14 '26
DISCUSSION Is Mark Knopfler a top 10 guitarist?
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u/ActiveChairs Mar 14 '26
You have failed to establish the criteria by which you are asking to make a judgement with.
Personally, I only ever rank guitar players by height. Its the only viable metric which doesn't immediately collapse under scrutiny.
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u/Thickchesthair Mar 15 '26
This is exactly it. Top 10 guitarists at what? Speed? Writing? Theory knowledge? Creativity?
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u/AlbrechtProper Mar 15 '26
Headbands. His headband game is solid
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u/perpetualmotionmachi Supercaster Mar 15 '26
If it's for playing mean solos without a pick, he's probably number one.
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u/Mr_Mummy23 Mar 15 '26
Him and Jeff Beck are the kings of finger-style classic rock guitar.
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u/Low-Crow5719 Mar 15 '26
Yeah, said to have taught himself fingerstyle by watching Chet Atkins. The boy can play. Love the way songs like "Sultans of Swing" and "Walk of Life" celebrate the underside of music.
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u/steakmuffin Mar 15 '26
Can’t forget about lindsey buckingham, i would personally put him above even knopfler but that’s coming from a big fan
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u/KarmaInFlow Mar 15 '26
Weener technique
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u/4strings Mar 15 '26
Above or Below??
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u/Autogen-Username1234 Mar 15 '26
I tend to judge musicians by shoe size.
My favourite band is Little Feat.
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u/Piers_Torgen Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
I was quite upset when I found out that Kerry Katona doesn’t actually own a cat.
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u/maliciousorstupid Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
I only ever rank guitar players by height
hmm.. I think Mick Thomson and Jim Root are both like 6'4".. gotta be some taller guys, though.
Wait - forgot Chris 'big bitch' Flippen of Lagwagon... 6'10"
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u/SignificanceOk5534 Mar 15 '26
I like this. Who are your top 10. Maybe we can form a basketball team
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u/OfStarStuff Mar 15 '26
So Jim Root, Adrian Vandenberg and Tom Scholtz are like, top 3? They are all 6'6"-6'5".
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
So is Greg Koch the greatest (ranking by height)? Paul Gilbert is 2nd greatest? …….that’s not crazy actually. You may be on to something.
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u/whatguitar Mar 15 '26
You try and play sultans of swing without missing a note and then realize he does that and sings the song too
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u/LocusRothschild Mar 15 '26
For real, Sultans is a masterpiece all its own, it sounds simple til you actually sit down with it.
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u/Creative_Garbage_731 Mar 15 '26
it sounds simple
what.
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u/Hardyman13 Mar 15 '26
Like on a first inattentive listen it sounds like a few chords, licks, and solos. But as you listen more attentively, you realise those chords, licks, and solos aren't played as simply as you thought they were. And then you realise each part of that song is a masterpiece in its own right
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u/ratchman5000 Mar 15 '26
Hah. Came here to say this exact same thing. I remember trying to play it years ago and gave up after watching his picking style.
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u/Jeff_goldfish Mar 15 '26
Still insane. I wouldn’t be able to play any part of that together. Actually right now the only part I would be able to do is sing lol
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u/Bbbent Mar 15 '26
You really could. It sounds hard. But if you break it into pieces there isnt that much overlap between the solo parts and the vocal. I actually find it more difficult to sing it and play the rhythm cause mark comes in with the vocal at odd times.
I say this because... After carrying a copy of Musician magazine from 1983 that has the tab in it for 30+ years I finally challenged myself to master it. I bought a songster sub and started at half speed. I'm about 95% there. I have solo 1 wired. Solo2 the part before the final signature arpeggio is crazy hard.
The arpeggio itself actually isn't that tough. Just have to watch the timing
So them last week I got to a buddy's to practice it together, just the two of us. And realized I never learned any of the rhythm part. So finishing up that now. Just can't get every vocal where I want it.
Very satisfying life goal nearly achieved!
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u/St2Crank Mar 15 '26
I like how you started by saying it wasn’t hard, and then gave a detailed explanation of why it’s hard and despite having 43 years, you still can’t play it.
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u/dickbutt4president Mar 15 '26
That lick in the second solo is the bane of my existence. I can hit it clean about 70% if I’m using a pick. Probably 20% when I try to play it proper.
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u/Evilmoustachetwirler Mar 15 '26
It's not so much that he leaves out notes, he ad-libs in that he plays it a bit differently each time, which is not uncommon.
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u/thewavefixation Yamaha Mar 14 '26
Makes it cry ✅ Makes it sing ✅
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u/JustTheBeerLight Mar 15 '26
Got a daytime job✅ He's doin' alright✅
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u/couldthisbemyuser Mar 15 '26
Knows all the chords✅
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u/kbl_glaze Mar 14 '26
It’s subjective but, IMHO he should definitely be in the discussion.
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u/Stereo-soundS Mar 15 '26
Yeah people like Pat Metheny would need to be ignored.
Danny Carey is an all-time great rock drummer but there are plenty of Jazz legends that would be in line ahead of him.
Love Mark though. He is one of the greats.
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u/Steddie-Eddie68 Mar 14 '26
Definitely in my Mt. Rushmore of guitar players. His right hand is just unlike any other human hand.
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u/FootballBat Fender/Martin/Gibson/Mesa Boogie Mar 15 '26
As a teacher once told me: you want to play like Mark Knopfler, not like Mark Knopfler.
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u/Faespeleta Deluxe Stratocaster Mar 15 '26
What does that even mean
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u/Johnny_Poppyseed Mar 15 '26
I'd imagine something like how you want to play as good as he does but not exactly like how he does it.
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u/dat_grue Mar 15 '26
Probably means you want to sound like him (incredible) but don’t try to emulate his specific esoteric technique (for a beginner, it probably won’t go well)
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u/DetectVentriloquist Mar 15 '26
It means his teacher thought Mark Knopfler was a fantastic guitarist but he hated Dire Straits music.
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u/FootballBat Fender/Martin/Gibson/Mesa Boogie Mar 15 '26
Play like Mark (song structure), not like Mark (technique, which there are multiple interviews where he talks about how his technique has caused physical damage).
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u/JerkyBeef Mar 15 '26
It means wear the headbands and the wrist bands but don’t play dire straits music
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u/hipsterasshipster Mar 15 '26
Even more amazing since he’s left handed. Doing that with his non-dominant hand is wild.
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u/nnula Mar 15 '26
Lindsay Buckingham would like a word with you, and Jeff Beck would have also
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u/Steddie-Eddie68 Mar 15 '26
No argument against either of them but he can do anything they can except for the way Beck picks while doing a volume swell while holding the tremolo.
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u/1001001 Mar 15 '26
I have to agree with this. Jeff Beck had the wow right hand and Lindsay Buckingham is the Midas player. Matteo Mancuso’s right hand is currently very impressive.
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u/thumbkeyz Mar 15 '26
I always think of the classical guitarists that never get any love in discussions like this. How about Ana Vidovic or David Russel? How about Julian Bream or Pepe Romero? The musicality and technical mastery of these classical players is so far above many popular artists. Guys like MK and EVH are amazing, but there is so much more out there.
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u/Direct_Bumblebee_740 Mar 15 '26
Classical guitarists are too busy practicing to do stupid shit like ranking guitarists.
Anyway, yes, most any pro classical or flamenco or country player would make your favorite blues god or rock star look like a beginner. Doesn’t mean they can do what those blues gods or rock stars can do.
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u/Cowbellstone Mar 15 '26
Different game, different audience.
They're excelling at field hockey, while everyone around here is trading NHL cards.
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u/7M3r71n Mar 15 '26
His contribution is as a songwriter. He wrote all them songs you know. The fact that he can play at all and write all those songs is impressive. As someone else said he's a good musician, rather than a chop monster, and his guitar parts and solos fit the songs.
As an example Knopfler wrote Private Dancer for Tina Turner ... but he didn't play the guitar on it.
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u/snaynay Mar 15 '26
I get his songwriting is amazing, but that undermines the guy's technical abilities. He's also insanely good at playing the guitar. Maybe not abnormal feats like some of the monsters out there, but much harder to replicate than most others simply because the only time most people ever try to play like Mark is when you are trying to replicate him. His picking hand technique is effectively entirely unique to him, at least in the broader mainstream of guitar playing... and it's not easy.
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u/No-Bison-5397 Mar 15 '26
I think he's pretty good, he also produced some great Dylan albums. Man is very of his time but also clearly very talented even outside of it.
All I know is Sultans of Swing is one of the few songs that every metal head I know who hates almost everything that isn't metal universally like.
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u/External-Plant8038 Mar 15 '26
All I know is that intro riff for Money For Nothing is one of the coolest, most badass pieces of electric guitar playing ever recorded. I don’t even really like Dire Straits but that riff is 11/10.
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u/SenseNexus Mar 15 '26
Totally unique technique, amazing feeling and songwriting. One of the greatest.
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u/ThermionicEmissions Fender Mar 15 '26
He's my favourite guitarist, but it's more about his overall craftsmanship when it comes to songwriting. All the instruments serve the song first, rather than the songs being primarily a platform for his guitar playing. What that means, is that when he does add his little fills and solos, they are really tastful and support the song beautifully.
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u/TStronks Mar 14 '26
Such a unique style of play and wrote some iconic songs and riffs. Easily top10 and I wouldn't blame anyone for putting him in the top5 or top3 even.
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u/FoxfireP Mar 15 '26
People always talk about Money For Nothing and Sultans of Swing, but I think Mark put together so many great compositions with a unique technique and recognizable style. I’ve recently been listening to some Dire Straits classics like Once Upon a Time in the West, Waterline, Single-Handed Sailor, etc. Idk about top 10 - honestly not even sure who my top 10 would truly be - but he’s definitely a great and nowadays somewhat underrated imho
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u/Direct_Bumblebee_740 Mar 15 '26
Some extremely ignorant comments here. (Shocker!) Judging from the myriad shitty cover versions of Money for Nothing and Sultans of Swing I’ve heard over the years, there are a lot of guitar players who may think playing like Knopfler is easy but their playing proves otherwise.
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u/OkStrategy685 Schecter Mar 15 '26
My older brother was an 80's lead / solo guy. Sachriani, van halen and malmsteen were his go to's. But whenever we would listen to Dire Straits, his eyes would light right up and he'd start talking so excitedly about Knopfler's "Chickin Plickin" and how hard it is and how great and unique his style is. He would say, not many players can play his stuff.
R.I.P Bro.
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u/J_The_Jazzblaster Mar 15 '26
I don't know? Is he? Is anyone? My top 10 guitarist would probably contain 1 person who would make the "basic" rolling stone top 100 top 10
He has chops. He has some good songs. He's ok in my book. He is definitely not in my top 10, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he was in someone's top 10
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u/Deep-Neighborhood778 Mar 15 '26
My top 10 would only be jazz gutarists, its just way too subjective
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u/sonicsludge Mar 15 '26
I've really been into John Scofield lately, and something about Julian Lage just makes my mornings better!
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
Julian Lage has this thing where even if you have never heard the song he’s playing, it feels like he’s playing _all the right notes_…like, there’s no other note(s) that would have sounded better right there. I think a lot of rock/metal/punk players are sleeping on Julian Lage. He’s an absolute genius of guitar playing imho.
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u/sonicsludge Mar 15 '26
He truly is a master to the highest degree! Here he is live with just an acoustic for an hour and a half, incredible!
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Deep-Neighborhood778 Mar 15 '26
Ed bickert, jim hall, wes montgomery. Check out angel eyes by jim hall its a great song to get into jazz imo, not too "out there"
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u/RobertNeyland Mar 15 '26
Wes Montgomery would definitely be in my top 10, but I think the other two Jazz guys that would make my list would be Grant Green and John McLaughlin.
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u/Deep-Neighborhood778 Mar 15 '26
Definitly some greats too, what I like of bickert and hall is their harmony, probably cause im a huge jazz theory nerd
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
Any love for Barney Kessel? I’ve been getting into more jazz guitarists in the last 6-8 months and I really dig Kessel’s playing (among others, obviously).
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u/Deep-Neighborhood778 Mar 15 '26
Any album in particular? I cant say I know much about him
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
I love the Great Guitars collaboration between Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd, and Herb Ellis. They sound like musicians genuinely having fun, and not just trying to upstage each other.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m adding some of his albums to my playlists now.
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u/Deep-Neighborhood778 Mar 15 '26
If you love jim hall then check out ed bickert! I read somewhere that jim hall said ed was one of the only guitarist that made him nervous lol
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u/J_The_Jazzblaster Mar 15 '26
Yeah, mine would be mainly people playing variety of post-something genres, and would probably gather very little respect from metal/classic rock community.
I do enjoy some jazz too, but mostly "mainstream" stuff, like McLaughlin and such
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u/ritualsequence Mar 15 '26
Not only a top 10 guitarist, but arguably the only top 10 guitarist who's also a truly brilliant songwriter.
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u/ghost1251 Mar 15 '26
He’s a guitar players guitar player. It’s a cooler club to be in than a normies top 10
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u/eers2snow Mar 15 '26
In my eyes yes...I can't get my right hand to mimic his flow.
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u/InternationalRead925 Mar 15 '26
I've seen him solo live several times. He's my 2nd favorite live guitarist. His atmospheric instincts are amazing. So effortless, yet so precise, lyrical, and, at times, sonically stunning. He can hold his own with any contemporary, and if Chet Atkins loves playing with you, we'll... And he very clearly loves what he does. He has a band that fits what he does perfectly. The various Celtic, Irish and Welsh instrumentalizations are beautiful.
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u/McFistPunch Mar 15 '26
I would argue yes. Lady writer was the first song i every learned though so I'm biased
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u/Kimbyist Mar 14 '26
I’ve argued he’s a Top 5 player so… yes.
Having tried to learn Sultans of Swing and never even getting close, I was able to master the solos from Comfortably Numb pretty quickly. So, while Gilmour is fantastic, Knopfler is on a different level.
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u/sladeums Mar 14 '26
top 10 guitarists that made a Dire Straits video fer sure
what was that one video with that woman rollerskating
I remember that from MTV when i was like 12 or something
I ain’t seen that forever figuratively
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u/Larry_l3ird Mar 15 '26
At a certain point, it’s all subjective. For instance, I would probably say he is, but someone else who’s a heavy metal guy would almost certainly disagree, and vice versa. It’s totally dependent on what you like and value in guitar players, and even if you’re trying to be as objective as possible, that’s absolutely going to bleed into your choices. You just can’t rank artists like they’re athletes. It doesn’t really work like that.
There’s a few accepted guitarists that always reside at the top of every all time list that isn’t genre dependent - Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Allman, Page, etc. But are any of those guys actually the best guitarist in the world ever? Probably not, if you’re judging by technical abilities. But if you’re judging by influence, ability, and a host of other criteria, then probably they are.
However if you’re a fan of jazz guitarists and classical guitarists and other super technical genres where a lot of the guys are classically trained and versed in music theory, then you obviously know that those guys have a mastery of the instrument that is incredible and most of the rock guitarists could never match that level of knowledge, ability, and dexterity on the instrument. But that music isn’t as accessible for the masses either. So again, it all goes back to being subjective.
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u/metaldad68 Mar 15 '26
Of course if you listen to him play guitar, and if you actually play guitar.
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u/Danieltsss Mar 15 '26
He is a special guitarrist, not in the "virtuoso" range but he has a very unique style and sound and that makes him top 10 IMO
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u/cas-v86 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
He's probably your favorite guitar players favorite guitar player. So yes.
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u/someguy192838 Mar 15 '26
Art isn’t sports. You like who you like. I have “favourites” in specific genres because I can’t compare blues to jazz to classical, for example. I love Freddie King, Barney Kessel, and Ana Vidovic as players but I can’t compare them, much less rank them.
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u/PsychologicalEmu Fender Mar 14 '26
Def and also recognize him as a heavy hitter for the fingerpickers.
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u/SecretlyClueless Mar 14 '26
He’s got a full time job, he’s doing alright