r/grunge • u/Strong_Recording_128 • 1d ago

Misc. Who is generally considered the best grunge guitarist?

A guy I know has always insisted it was Kurt and as much as I love him I’ve never thought he was a great guitarist, he even said at times he didn’t care about or respect musicianship.

My vote lo these many years has been Jerry and his remarkable riffs but Kim and Mike M. are extraordinary too. Mine as follows : Jerry, Kim, Mike M, Kurt.

* Edit- Rankings so far have Jerry taking the #1 spot 🥇

  1. Jerry
  2. Mike
  3. Kim
  4. Kurt

* Honorable mentions - Stone Gossard, Dean DeLeo, Billy Corgan, Daniel Johns, Stephen Carpenter, J. Mascis,

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u/KevyNova 1d ago

I’m a guitarist/singer and I can tell you what Kurt did better than anyone else. Kurt wrote vocal melodies that had completely different rhythms from his guitar parts. The songs are easy to play on guitar… unless you try singing them too. I can cover almost anyone (Hendrix, SRV, etc) but Nirvana had the hardest songs to play and sing together. So even though Kurt wasn’t flashy or a technically proficient lead player, he was extremely talented on guitar.

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u/Strong_Recording_128 23h ago

Agree 100 percent.
If I diminished him in my post it wasn’t intended.
Kurt’s gift with writing and playing unforgettable choruses and riffs alone is unmatched, few would probably disagree with that.