kirk hammett's solos are some of the most melodic and hummable. his talent cannot be doubted. if people say he has'nt done much but play solos, they forget that he come up with some of the riffs of master of puppets. he is fast and plays with style. he can't be called the greatest but he's as darn close as you can get.

Kirk Hammett cannot be denied the title of heavy metal's best guitarist. (80s-current metal anyway) but he is not as musicially inclined as classic rock guitarists such as Clapton,Page,Beck,Blackmore,Neil Young, Angus Young or Van Halen. Don't get me wrong Metallica is awesome and I have most of their albums. Hammett is vary good, just not the best.

kirk hammett doe snot deserve this position - all he does is finger tap - where on earth is the talent - best guitarist my arse

hes good, i feel it was more of a combined thing with hetfield and himself that drive metallica...

Garbage

THE BEST EVER!

Metallica is madd and he should be numba 1!

He is an incredible guitarist and should be credited for it.

he's frieking amazing with the guitar he has speed accuracy the tune of his solos gets stuck in your head and you find yourself huming them for a while. sure he could be a lil more creative but the only reason he hasnt wrtten the greatest solo in the world is becuase hetfield and ulrich are control freaks and wont let him. you could give him and solo or riff to play and he'd play it perfectly. he's my hero and probably the best guitarist there ever was and is end of story.

Way overrated and sloppy

Utterly, UTTERLY terrible guitarist. Cannot shred, cannot play fast at all, cannot play melodically, cannot write riffs, cannot play a solo without wah, cannot not speak like Michael Jackson, cannot stand up to Lars Ulrich. What a pathetic individual.

The rating says it all.... Kirk Hammett deserves a 10/5 stars not 5/5!

Are you guys insane, Best Guitarist? God, he's so over rated. All you you strictly-Metallica fans should really listen to some REAL guitar work. Randy Rhoades > Kirk Hammett. Laiho, Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, Gilbert, Loomis, Latvala,Dave Murray and many more > Kirk Hammett.

wtf he sucks

IMO, Metallica's main strength is in the quality of the rhythm playing but Im not sure how much of this down to Hammett or whether it mainly Hetfield. The solos are of good quality but they dont leave me slackjawed thinking 'how the feck does he do that?'

He rocks and all, but the best guitar players play the blues. Don't get me wrong, I love Mettalica, but a great blues guitarist would consider what Hammett does easy. That is, aside from the cardiovascular aspects of what he does.

kirk is the best guitarist of all time i wish i could play like him

Kirk's solo's are so memorable you can practically hum every note of them.

he sucks

A player that should be, and is by me, highly respected for what he has done, and can do with his guitar.

kirk has infunce me on guitar very well he is a great guitarest and is on my wanta be person list! kirk has shown the world some awsome songs that will never be forgot as entersand man! yes i have all metallica CDs and all the best they could possbly be! thank you kirk hammit your frinking AWSOME!! i have no idea why eneybody sould ever not like kirk!!!!

Kirk Hammett is probably one of the best in terms of Technique and clean playing. however, he could work on his creativity. His perfect rendition of the 'One' solo at Woodstock 99 is proof of his mastery of the guitar. Any aspiring guitarist is in complete awe of the fast riffs and solo licks he pulls off, seemingly effortlessly.

KIRK HAMMETT IS LIVE LEGEND!!!

I think Metallica ultimately defined what heavy metal really was and though some of thier songs seem repetative sounding what with the power chords and jazz but man he can wail on a guitar. They may not be technical peices of work but Kirk can bring it all together smoothly in one sweet riff or solo

In my truly honest opinion, Kirk Hammett is one of the greatest guitarists. Yes, he is not as influential as Jimi Hendrix with his complex guitar play. Nor is he as versatile like Jimmy Page. However, you have to admit that he is one of the most accurate and skillful guitarists in the world. Even Jimmy Page cannot play nowhere as clean as Kirk Hammett. For these reasons, he should be in the Top Ten, though, not in the Top Five. This is coming from a heavy Metallica fan, believe it or not. In terms of skill, accuracy and speed, he is top. However, in terms of inventiveness, creativity and influence, he isn't very. Kirk Hammett is a VERY, VERY underrated guitarist, the reason being he is not very influential and that he has not done anything revolutionary for the guitar like Mr. Hendrix or Mr. Berry has. However, he IS perhaps the best player of them all OPINION? He should be #7-10.

Kirk Hammett is undoubtedly talented. He plays some killer solos and the guy is damned fast! I admit that the solos that attracted me to metal music come out of his guitar. I have had the honour to see him and Metallica (one of my all-time favourite bands) twice in Australia. However, I would like him to improve his guitar medley solos in the concerts, be a bit more creative! I mean, he does the scale progression from low to high and wah wah heaps and one gets kinda bored after a while. But anyway, he and James are my biggest inspiration and influences while playing the guitar.

Pretty good, plays some interesting stuff. The only thing that irks me about his playing is that he tends to play scales from the first note to the last note over inappropriate chords progressions to the point where it sounds off. He should lay off on the wah pedal too, too much a good thing sometimes. Otherwise great.

Kirks ok, but Jason is the one with the control over the band and such. But where's Joe Satriani on this list? He taught BOTH Kirk hammett and STEVE VAI.. and they are both on here... Kirk is good, great even... but he didnt really lead to metallica's success... and his solo's are pretty memorable, but nothing a million others can do as well.

kirk hammett is a tue metal legend i think he is the greatest lead guitarist ever born i think he should do a solo albumn so we can hear how good he is.you rock SIR.KIRK(ur my idol)

he is the best guitaris out there.......his solos rule.....fave solo= fado to black and One

Kirk Hammett is a GOD. Being in the greatest band of all time he really contributes a lot with his abilities.

Great guitarist and true team member.

...truly accomplished guitarist, and the best thing about Hammett is that he sticks to his part and doesn't go out of line in a song to 'prove' how good he is, letting Hetfield do what he can. My favourite solo - wherever I may roam.

KIRK HAMMETT IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND MY IDOL! one of the best!

No one played more powerful chords than this man.

Great player in the best Metal band of all time.