Keith Richards

Not bad at all when younger. And not bad today. I love his voice and song and dance. Listen to 'Before They Make Me Run' and 'You Don't Have to Mean It', among others and say you don't love Keith, voice, face, and all. Keith's great. So much more than a pretty face. But his face great. Perfectly, unmistakeably Keith. There is no other. And there never will be.

Looks like he sat in the Arizona sun for 50 years while chain smoking Lucky Strikes.

Yeah...He's Bad.

At best he was/is a decent enough rhythm player who's come out with some memorable riffs but his lead work hardly impresses. It doesnt help that he also has a face like a year old prune.

You really have to give those ancient Egyptian morticians credit for the work they did on this mummy, don't you think?

Keith Richards is one of my favorite songwriters/musicians but as for his solo stuff, blaahhh

When it comes to the rhtyme parts , nobody can touch this dude.

He would be near the top of the rock and roll list just for the years he has managed to stay alive and keep playing. On the early Stones albums, he was inspiring to the aspiring. His lifestyle is his biggest flaw.

He's simply the best guy ever to do rock!

Richards is so sloppy that he takes a string off of his guitars to hide his flaws. He used to be a solid rythym player but he can't play anymore.

The best guitarist of all time. Supports the song first. Great innovative soslos.

this guy is still having fun, entertain with the highest energy, and equiped with a powerful slap to the face rhythm.

Not a huge Stones fan.

nobody plays rhythm like keith. He's the best ever.

very tasteful and rude!

When it comes to the mellow stuff, nobody can touch this phucker.

One of the best studio rock and roll guitar men ever....

well I used to love him...

another great songwriter but isnt that great live

Agreed with some others...probably wouldn't look so bad if he hadn't been ridden hard and put up wet....most of his bad looks are from the rough life he has led.

Greatest innovation?  Smoking a cigarette and playing at the same time!!!

Belongs on the most overrated list. He plays a decent rhythm guitar and gets a few points for survival but you'd think he invented open tuning  going by the magazines and the aura and myth built around him is far more impressive than his playing. Since Taylor left the Stones they haven't had a creative moment. But I guess when your other guitarist is Woody, anybody looks great.

he defies death. what is the key to his immortality?

I've said it before, but it never ceases to amaze me. Richards is a walking anti-drug advertisement. Seemingly overnight, he changed from an average-looking guy into Kharis the Mummy, and I think it has to be the heroin. Teenagers tend to be fixated on their looks, and maybe the most effective anti-drug commercial the DARE people, or a similar group, could devise would be pre-heroin and post-heroin photographs of Richards. Age alone can't account for such a dramatic physical transformation, in my opinion.

snaking rhythms and so much soul,a bad mofo.fave:dandelion

No fair putting a Zombie on the list with all of the other human contestants.

When i was little i remember watching my first Rolling Stones music video on MTV. The song was "Just waiting on a friend" if anyone remembers. As a kid i saw Keith Richards for the first time in that video, and im wondering "Boy does this guy look like he is on dope!".  I just laughed years later after i heard what this female announcer on the radio said.  She said "He took so many drugs it is surprising he is still alive!"

I figure three things will survive World War 3: twinkies, cockroaches, and Keith Richards.

He's death warmed up alright. I wonder what he takes to  kick start himself in the morning..............

The pits. Sorry......

He is a good musicain but not quite right in the head. Today, he just admitted to snorting his father's ashes."He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/03/entertainment/e11 5910D72.DTL&type;=entertainment

Yes, loose and sloppy

Average guitarist.  Has had many memorable riffs and licks over the years.  Sort of a sloppy player which adds to his appeal for the type of loose rock the Stones produce.  I wouldn't have him on any best guitarist lists for ability, but a better rhythm player than a "lead" guitarist.

Got to give the guy a lot of credit for his playing even though he looks like he is 100 years old!!

The Ultimate Rhythm Guitarist.

A very basic guitarist BUT he could keep time well.

this dude couldnt play one chord to save him away from drugs.

Another in a long line of "things from the 1960s" that gets way more praise than it deserves. The baby boomers are so self obsessed it's ridiculous. It's almost humorous to watch people try to come up with things to praise about Keefers playing. "Great rhythm playing" is a common one. As if every other guitarist on this list couldn't play the "rhythms" he played.

If you want some good stuff from this dude check out his live 1972 tour. He might not be the fast cat but nobody can touch this f***er when it comes to the rhythm. Nobody plays with sting, and emotion like Keith.

he can play good rhythm guitar and make good riffs but terrible at lead guitar work.

This dude came up with some of the most sickest riffs. A true genuis.

Criticizing Keith Richards for being a simplistic rhythm machine is like criticizing Guinness for making a strong stout. If you don't recognize the greatness of Brown Sugar's tough, visceral rhythm patterns than there is no hope for you and you just simply will never get it. Keith Richards IS rock and roll, deal with it.

This list is about as meaningless as any list on this site. Can you believe that Keith Richards is way ahead of such masters as Andres Segovia or Carlos Montoya? It shows that about all most of the raters have heard is head banging electric types. Real mastery is done in the acoustic mode. I wonder how Richards would stack up there?

I must disagree with the estimable 5th century barbarian chieftain on this one, whilst pleading ignorance of the two guitarists he mentioned beyond recognizing the names. Richards, who started out as pretty much a co-lead guitarist in the Brian Jones days before Mick Taylor came in, is arguably the greatest rythym guitarist in rock's history, or at any rate one of them. Acoustically speaking, he might not be as great on acoustic guitar as, say, Clapton but a listen to his acoustic work on something like "Sweet Black Angel," or "Sweet Virginia," or "Wild Horses" should dispell any criticisms to his unplugged ability.

Keith Richards is not a "soloist", but you have to give the guy credit for coming up with some of the greatest guitar riffs in Rock History!

He smells, and it's awful. sorry to speak wrong of the dead. (hahahaha).

LOL, I play as well as Richards!

He's KEITH. He can say/do wotever the fock 'e wants...and he does. The rest of you amateurs can take a number.

A long running joke in the music world.

Rhythms so sharp you could cut yourself on them.Eric Carmen's favorite guitarist.