who do u think it is and y? Im amazed no-one has come up with Sonny Landreth! He can Out Cooder any of the fine players on the above answers!
By the way, Robert Randolph plays Pedal steel guitar, not bottleneck.. Duane Allman..it was his soul extension..hard ,fast,melodic,tonal,razor-sharp..there are many..But who could have played the solos on "Dreams", "Layla","The Weight","Road of Love"...you Elmore James,Muddy,Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher..but Duane..The Skydog,Man..Don't any body forget Earl Hooker either..Damn..I'll just starting to talk..OK,I'll cool now.. Well, that's a real toss-up in my book. Here are my favorites based on styles:
Rock/R&B: Duane Allman - no question, he took slide guitar where it had never been before.
British Invasion: George Harrison - so, you never noticed his slide work on the Beatles' and his solo albums? You should have - he's great!
Ry Cooder: Ry Cooder - That's right - Ry has his own category, as he transcends any genre with equal aplomb. Ry is so good on so many levels - folk/country blues, rock, world music - and yet, he is faithful to the traditional sound of bottleneck.
Woman/Songwriter-Singer: Bonnie Raitt - though I categorize her this way, she can stand up against any male bottlenecker in almost any category. I love her - really, I've always been in love with her! Beauty, talent, personality, she's got it all.
Rocker/Bluesman - Johnny Winter - listen to the Second Winter album and you'll see what I mean.
Vintage Blues/Pioneer - Elmore James - he schooled them all. Jeff Beck was once quoted as having bloodied his fingertips trying to imitate Elmore's sound, until he found out about the use of the bottleneck. Everyone who plays bottleneck or any other type of slide owes tribute to Elmore.
So, do I have to pick the GREATEST? ELMORE JAMES!!! Some other greats to throw in the mix:
Earl Hooker
J.B. Hutto
Hound Dog Taylor
Robert Nighthawk
as for modern day folks:
Lil Ed from the Blues Imperials
Bill Perry - He passed away today...sad duane allman Great List Steve S.
My favorite, Duane Allman, watching him play was mesmerizing along with the tone and sounds he could cull out of the strings.
Lowell George of Little Feat.
Johnny Winter, lightening in a bottleneck and yes, I play my Second Winter vinyl album even now......
Derek Trucks heavily influenced by the Allman Brothers but also has his own sound.
Elmore James from a long time ago. I know this isn't really an answer to your question but I think you should check out what Robert Randolph and the Family Band are doing with slide guitar. Brining it to a whole new audience. Ever: Duane Allman
Right now: Derek Trucks. You'd swear he's Duane's kin and not Butch Trucks nephew when listening to him. Youtube and watch him play, the way he plays has to be seen. Here is one from last year's Clapton tour: http://youtube.com/watch?v=DHRY6JnkIm4 ALL the folks listed above are GREAT ....
but no one approaches it with the sensativity of Blind Willie Johnson. A few I havn't seen mentioned...
Joe Walsh
Bonnie Raitt
Jimmy Page | 