If you have one?
And I don't mean your favorite artist overall, or the one that you think has the best technical skills, although that can (and probably will) come into play. But I think style and feeling are just as, if not more important, than technical skill. I'd like to know who you most like to watch and/ or listen to, and why? And give me an example of what you consider to be some of their best work.
For example, I think Eddie Van Halen has (had?) fantastic skills- he's (was) amazingly fast, but there's not much melody to his playing. Eric Clapton is just sublime to listen to, IMO, but kind of boring to watch - he mostly just stands and plays.
My favorite guitarist at the present is Keith Urban. This guy is a rocker in a country singer's body, though I'd consider his music more pop/rock than country. I love his solos- there's an "atmospheric" quality about them that reminds me of David Gilmour. I've seen him live twice, most recently last Friday night, and I think he's just amazing. I had a hard time picking just one song of his to post- I like them all! lol So, I picked a couple:
'Til Summer Comes Around- The song that got me hooked on Keith when I first heard him play it live. I think the treadmill's kind of corny and totally unnecessary, but if anything, the fact that he can walk and play at the same time is kind of impressive:
Raining on Sunday- I love the slower pace on this one, the bluesy intro, and I like the melody on the closing solo: (skip the end with him reading the signs, unless you really want to watch. lol)
He's no slouch on the acoustic, either, and I do love his singing voice:
Another little factoid to mention here is that Randy Flowers' brother, Jerry, plays bass (and other instruments) in Keith's band. You can see him in the ROS video- he's the bald guy on Keith's left (right side of video).
So, who's your guitar hero?