Best acoustic guitar player

BaldFriede wrote: Steve Hackett should definitely be included on the list. His classical guitar albums are real pearls. He knows how to make the acoustic guitar sound like an orchestra. Steve Howe never impressed me much as an acoustic guitar player; he doesn't really know how to make the acoustic guitar "sing". He should stick to electric, where I like him a lot. Of course Segovia and Reinhardt have to be named when it comes to acoustic guitar; also Julian Bream. Reinhardt is all the more amazing because he could only use 2 fingers of his left hand fully after an accident (the caravan he lived in burned down when he was 18, and his left hand suffered serious burns, doing damage to the tendons of his left hand)! But they don't play in a rock-context (though Hackett's acoustic solo albums have nothing to do with rock music either; strangely they are filed under "rock" though in record shops and also bought by people who listen to rock). Hackett names Segovia and Reinhardt as major influences, by the way (and, of all people, Keith Richards! But anyone who listens to his riffs knows what he means by that). John McLaughlin is not really an acoustic guitarist, in my opinion. Sure, he can be as fast as hell on it, but he is not a master of polyphonic play, which is an important part of playing acoustic guitar. The same can be said for Al Dimeola.

Yea I was looking for Hackett on the poll but didnt see his name there. I tend to prefer Hackett over Howe on acoustic as far as "prog" players go. While Howe may be more innovative, his technique tends to come off as sloppy to my ears sometimes, whereas I can relate to the classical influences of Hackett more being a classical guitarist myself. "Horizons" and the intro to "Blood On the Rooftops" are beautiful pieces and his solo classical style albums are excellent. And while Segovia is generally regarded as the father of the modern classical guitar, I prefer John Williams. His style and technique are impeccable.

Hey! Nobody mentioned Egberto Gismonti, Adrian Legg, or Lenny Breau, 3 of my faves.

Oops, I just did.

Ralph Towner's not too shabby either.

Of those mentioned:  Hedges, McLaughlin, Howe, Bream, Kottke, Fisk, Hackett are faves, love 'em all!

LEO KOTTKE, TOMMY EMMANUEL, ALEX DE GRASSI, FRANCO MORONE, RALPH TOWNER, PIERRE BENSUSAN, JOHN RENBOURN, BERT JANSCH ... I've seen them all in concert and they're great, almost impossible to choose... In 1996 I attended a concert in Rome with PACO DEL LUCIA - AL DI MEOLA and JOHN MCLAUGHLIN performing in trio... Sorry, I can't choose!

If you're interested in acoustic guitar music I suggest to check the site of Acoustic Music Records: it's a German label specialized in acoustic guitar...

 http://www.acoustic-music.de/