Which guitar players have your favourite tone? We all have our biases, mine is obvious but I think Fredrik Thordendal always has the kickinest tone. The rhythm sound on Nothing and I in particular just kills me, it's like a head being smashed into the concrete

And his lead tone is immaculate, it always makes me think of saxophone or aliens, one or the other I think a wonderful example if you haven't got any Meshuggah would be to download a track from Nothing called "Nebulous"... The solo is so cool, it's like a weird gurgling noise, it just sounds so organic and liquid... Beautiful.

I love Devy's tone very much on his solo/DTB projects also. He does well with SYL, but I don't think his tone ever kicks like Meshuggah's for that metal stuff. But the nice single coiley sounds he gets on Terria in particular are so damn sweet.

Eric Peterson's on Testament - The Gathering
James Hetfield's on Metallica - Load (the heavy ones, especially on King Nothing)
Joe Satriani's on Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet (such smooth lead)
Dimebag Darrell's on Pantera - Rise (such ridiculous level of distortion )
Dimebag Darrell's on Pantera - Floods (great clean sound)

Ulver - "Nattens Madrigal" haha!

But seriously....Meshuggah has the sickest tone ever! So that is my fave metal tone i guess....

I`ll figure out some others I like later, no one comes to mind right now.

1) The Dev
2) Scott Ian (Anthrax)
3) Zakk Wylde (Ozzy, BLS)
4) Dimebag Darrel (Pantera, Damageplan)
5) Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah)
6) Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
7) Eric Peterson (Testament)
8) Kerry King (Slayer)
9) Andreas Kisser (on Chaos A.D. and Roots) (Sepultura)
10) Adam Jones (Tool)

EVH on Fair Warning.
Jeff Beck on Guitar Shop.
Brian May on Day At The Races.
Zakk Wylde on No More Tears.
David Gilmour on pretty much anything.
Ditto Angus and Malcolm Young.
SRV.
Satriani on Time Machine, Crystal Planet.
Vai on Passion and Warfare.
Neil Schon. No laughing guys!
Steve Morse on most things.

Thordendal
Randy Rhoads
Devin Townsend
Brian May
Peter Svensson

yeah, that's about it.

Bill Steer - Carcass

Rich Ward - Stuck mojo

Devin's tone on the new album... is just very good.

Opeth's guitarists tone (lost his name)...

Meshuggah - Chaosphere (Nothing/I is cool too, but it has that weird WANG sound to the proceedings, probably as a result of the 8th string, that sort of makes it too dry I think)
Soilwork - Chainheart Machine-Natural Born Chaos - these three have this awesome ROARING sound to the distortion...it's very very fun.
Days of the New - Days of the New 2 - I know it's acoustic, but the production or something makes it sound pretty hot, especially with the number of layers going on in some of the songs.
Devin Townsend - Accelerated Evolution - His tone was always pretty cool, but it sounds the best on this of course. I love that weird slick, echo-y sound.
Death Machine/Zero Hour - Very pummeling sound...it isn't really the greatest distortion sound in the world, but it's really a kick in the face, and I also like how the bass fits in with it.
Dream Theater - Awake - BIG FUNS
Dir En Grey - Kisou - Lots of good tones on this album...the guitars are good, but the bass player has about the best tone ever.
Strapping Young Lad - Alien - SKEKSIS has the greatest 7 string tone I've heard in my entire life, hahahaha
Dredg - El Cielo - LOTS MORE GOOD TONES ON THIS ALBUM, i guess that's what happens when you get produced at skywalker sound?
Novembers Doom - To Welcome the Fade - MOST SENSUOUS GUITAR EVER.

Thordendal
Randy Rhoads
Devin Townsend
Brian May
Peter Svensson

yeah, that's about it.

Randy Rhoads had a totally cool tone!
Richie Blackmore.
Robben Ford.
Joe Perry.
Matthias IA Eklundh.

Dimebag some how found the smoothest grilled and aggressive tone I think I've ever heard. I wonder how much studio work went into his sound.

I also like a lot of Dino's from Fear Factory...during Demanufacture, somehow flanged but clear and heavy.

Entombed. You can't beat their crazy ass tone.
Obituary. Again, during Cause of Death it was pretty awesome.
Pearl Jam off their first album Ten.
Stevie Ray Vauhgn...any time.
Satch....same thing
In Flames mid years, Jester and Whoracle
Big Wreck


But all in all I think Dime had the best sounding metal tone. And I don't say that because he is dead...

I often thought his lead tone had a really scooped yet full kind of sound to it.

Sadly tone comes from the fingers not the equipment

Brian May
Mark Knopfler, especially on the album "Golden Heart"
Jeff Beck
Brian Setzer
Satriani - although his records are inconsistent in tone. The Extremist sounds great.
Devin on Terria. Ocean Machine had a guitar sound that wouldn't be my fav if isolated but it worked beautifully with the whole production.
Oh, and me myself


For metal?
Metallica - Master of Puppets for a lean mean tone. Black Album for fatness of rhythm guitars.

Tammo

Guitarist/Album

John Petrucci - Scenes From A Memory
Steve Vai - Fire Garden
Tom Scholz - Don't Look Back
EVH - 5150
Scott Ian - Stomp 442
Scott Ian - Speak English or Die
Zakk Wylde - No More Tears
Trevor Rabin - Big Generator
Marty Freidman - Rust in Peace (especially Tornado of Souls.....drool!)
George Lynch - Wicked Sensation
Ty Tabor - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

wow, I really have to think for this one...

To me it's often a more a question of how the guitars are recorded, i.e. the quality of the production.

Patrik Jensen and Anders Björler on The Haunted Made Me Do It
Michael Amott on more or less all albums he appears on (especially Spiritual Beggars)
Marcus Sunesson and Marko Tervonen on The Crown's Crowned in Terror (not on the re-mixed version of the album, because on that one everything that was great about the old production (the clinical crispy sound) was thrown away)

Yeah, Eddie Van Halen has always had absolutely beautiful tones, even when they were whack (I'll Wait) they still worked perfectly for the song.

Dimebag had the bitchenest metal rhythm guitar around until Meshuggah did Nothing...

Dave Gilmour does pretty well. Opeth sound lovely (ohhh, PRS) Zappa had good tone on his older stuff (Absolutely Free etc)

I have always loved Trent Reznor's processed sounds, they smack you in the face!

Prince has always sounded good, but he sounds especially great nowadays.

And Omar from The Mars Volta has a great sound... so many pedals and cool amps. Same goes for Radiohead's guits, Greenwood and the rest.

And 3D always ensures that Massive Attack have the bitchenest guitar tones. How rulin is Angel?