peter heavenly: hold on, an electronic glitch has obviously led to the intrusion of a line from guitar tech magazine's reader poll in your message: "who is the best guitar player in the world and why? (and where's the best strings category?)"

kerthy garnet: who cares? guitar players are a dime a dozen, now singers -- that's an art form, anyway I'd be much more interested in who grows the finest tomatoes in the world

jyoti white town: michael nesmith. for demonstrating that a great rhythm riff beats tedious widdly-widdly soloing every time

evelyn ex-blast off: dean wareham is the best guitar player around, nice and subtle really genuine, but totally catchy. also, he looks so sad, I can't help but like him, his guitar playing is just an added bonus.

susan anway: robert quine--just ask richard hell or david bowie

stephin the magnetic fields: stuart moxham, especially on young marble giants' colossal youth, because he sounds like part of the drum machine, which is what I've always wanted to do. currently he's too jazzy, and out of his depth in jazz, but someday soon there'll be a rough trade eighties reunion tour and he'll go back to his electronic roots.

nils bernstein: tara key, not just because she can wrangle such intense emotion from the densest noise, but because I once saw a heckling mullethead bow at her feet at the end of a show.

the legendary jim ruiz: the best guitar player alive right now is max eider of jazz butcher fame. he's just so damn tasteful, he's the most underrated guitar player of the century.

john the magnetic fields: alex lifeson of rush is the last guitar player I remember liking that much. heavy metal kids always talked about listening to neil peart, but to guitarists, "permanent waves" was storybook downstroke.

tina claudine: I worship dan littleton from ida. he can stretch his hand across like four frets and does it so gracefully. I've also recently realized that lindsey buckingham from fleetwood mac is pretty cool because he plays guitar like a banjo.

gail chickfactor: peter momtchiloff, and I'm not just saying it cause I love his hair.

jim ruiz: wes montgomery is actually the best guitar player of all time I recently discovered, but max eider makes me weep.

paul beer frame: chuck berry. invented rock and roll. end of story.

cathy gilroy: erin out of bratmobile for her sassy tuneful bassy rumblings.

matt le grand magistery: I think it's eddie van halen, but only because I remember some kids saying that one day during recess. honestly though I never really pay much attention to guitar players. If I was to have to think about it, I might say ibon erazkin from le mans since I find his guitar playing without a doubt one of the most soothing things I've ever heard.

edith frost: jim o'rourke, I know that's a really obvious answer for me, but he's the best guitar player I know. can't say why -- he just boggles my brain.

claudia the magnetic fields: as a true bostonian I must hail rich gilbert, the winner of boston rock magazine's "flaming guitar" award every year for probably the last 15. he started off in the fantastic human sexual response, then played in the zulus and the concussion ensemble and now plays both for steve wynn and tanya donelly's bands.

andrew beaujon: pen rollings, hands down. any other answer is just plain wrong.

allen clapp: george harrison, because. . . well, he was the lead guitar player in the beatles.

sam the magnetic fields: john woo.

mike slumberland dropbeat: marv tarplin, who co-wrote the songs and came up with the signature riffs for so many classic motown hits.

franklin bruno: I'll go with tom verlaine, the man who rescued lead guitar from the tasty blues lick. he showboats a lot live, but just listen to him on patti smith's "break it up"--intelligent, incisive and that clean tone --

john true love always: who can pick just one? of course the all-time great is joao gilberto, because he was the man with the bossa-nova plan, just a totally great accompanist. but lois is a close second...

candice k: doug martsch. he is consistently interesting and dynamic. his worst guitar part is still leagues better than most people's best. and kurt cobain. he wrote some of the best pop songs ever recorded.

gilmore the yips: bill from harry pussy. he's incredible like finding a finger in a sandwich or a diamond in a boiled egg is incredible. just wild, you know, thundering hooves, eyes rolling in sockets, etc.

jonny cohen: pete nelson of the love machine. I don't know if most bands feel so psyched about their own members; if it's a phenomenon or something but pete is a remarkably fun and sensitive guitar player in my opinion.

gerard air traffic controllers: I couldn't call anyone the best, but tara key, tom verlaine, karl precoda and bob bannister are all personal favorites.

richard circumstantial evidence: I don't understand technical matters, so let's just say david challinor is the greatest guitarist I have ever heard. he can make noises and sounds which would have you in ecstasy... I don't know, he just understands what it is a guitar should do. if you want an answer with someone famous in it, all I will say is that to me, dave is as famous as anyone will get.

douglas dark beloved cloud: wm. berger, the only guitarist I ever want to hear taking a five-minute solo. for versatility, grace and inventiveness, there's nobody like him.

mark teenbeat: the guy from new order. he just plucks a few notes and that's enough.

mike the poconos: richard thompson. he has lots of technique and skill, but he doesn't let it get in the way of a good song. every time I've seen his solo performances, he's sounded like an entire band, percussion and all.

clarissa cf: phelps "catfish" collins. listen to him play "ain't it funky now" on james brown's love, power, peace, and just try to tell me differently. cf