oh man, it depends on what guitar playing you want. if you want soulful guitar definetely jimi hendrix. if you want hardcore metal, its probably dimebad from pantera or kirk hammet. if you want classical mixed with a litte bit of classic rock its steve vai. but hands down its jimi hendrix. he still is the best guitarist alive. what he did was revolutionary. nobody had ever played an awesome guitar solo with their teeth or behind their bad before. he was the most versitial guitar player ever. he played his own soloful music and yet still managed to play bb king, chuck berry, les paul, etc. jimi hendrixs reputation, songs, and fame came from only five years in the music industry before his untimely death in europe. that is why he would win. although jimmy page would give him a run for his money and the third best would probably be yngwie malmsteen, fourth carlos santana,fifth steve vai ,sixth kirk hammet, seventh dimebag, eigth joe satriani, ninth esteban,tenth eddie van halen. that is my list. whew!!