We need Sqrl Cub round here to give us the SD.
Chas E according to SQrlcub Segovia was a great and massively infuencial guitarist but not necesserily the most skilled, there was a thread about this some time ago and he gave a rundown on the whys and wherefores, and lets face it he should know.
Julian Bream
John Williams
Maurice Deebank of Felt
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
Vini Reilly of Durutti Column
and Joni Mitchell
all able to get incredible sounds out of their guitars without sounding like they’re wanking with them.
Segovia
Parkening
Off the top of my head… John Fahey, Adrian Beleu, Ry Cooder, Randy Rhodes, Leo Kottke, Jimi Hendrix, Bola Sete
I keep hearing people say Tom Morello is innovative, and I just don’t see it. He does use a lot of neat guitar tricks, but nothing that hasn’t been done before, it’s just that he’s got a large audience who hasn’t heard much previous experimental guitar work - I’m reminded of '70s Frampton fans who didn’t know he was using a Heil Talk Box to make the guitar talk. I doubt there’s anything that can be done with the electric guitar that hasn’t been done before - hell, I know as far back as 1990 I was using string scratching to simulate record scratching, using wind-up toys near the pickups combined with cheap stomp boxes to make weird sounds, fretting the high E against the neck pickup, and using weird tunings, and I know I wasn’t innovating, I was just imitating stuff I learned in Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine.
Hendrix was an innovator, though not particularly technical. I keep trying to think of a guitarist who was extremely skilled and also wrote good songs, and keep coming up blank. Satriani is the closest I can come up with, he can definitely write a hook and though his music isn’t a style I like it does have a lot of feeling.
I think hendrix wrote good songs.
I can’t believe that no one’s mentioned JOHNNY MARR.
Definitely JOHNNY MARR.
Leo Kottke
Tim Reynolds
Johnny Winters
Neil Young
Duane Allman
Dave Navarro
I REALLY REALLY think Eric Clapton is dreadfully overrated. Also, Jimi Hendrix immitators, like Stevie Ray, can not be better than their own god!
I had a Student named Rocky who was fantastic. Best in the world? Of course not, but very damn good. He looked so happy when he was playing, especially just noodlin’ around. I wish him well.
I think Paco De Lucia is incredible. My brother got me the album friday night in san fransico which features lucia, al dimeola, and john mclaughlin. All of them are amazing. This is probably the first album I ever heard that really made me appreciate technically great guitar playing.
I also agree with the above mentioned Johnny Marr. As well I think Tom Morello is another guitarist like the edge who is mistaken for being innovated with their guitars but are really just good with effect pedals.
I personally like the little known guitarists stephen eggerton (all/descendents)and Dean Wareham(luna/galaxy 500) or Sean Eden (luna).
Tony Rice
Chet Atkins
John Scofield
Randy Rhodes
Juan Serrano
Junior Brown
I’ll have to wimp out and pick in various categories:
For sheer speed: Al diMeola
For imaginativeness/inventiveness: Joe Satriani
For emotional impact: Andy Latimer (of Camel)
Best rock guitarist: Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (of Blue Oyster Cult)
Best blues guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan, who else?
Best female guitarist: Susan Tedeschi
Most amazing talent in someone just too young to be that talented: Jonny Lang
The greatest guitarist that hasn’t achieved the world-wide aclaim that his skill warrants: Andy Latimer
Nigel Tufnel
Another one to consider, but is not widely known about would be Aynesly Lister. He is awesome, and only 21. You guys in Western Europe might know of him.
David Byrne did some pretty nice rythym guitar work while with Talkingheads.
I saw Adrian Belew playing with the 'Heads right after Remain In Light came out, and he was outstanding.
There’s a young kid local to the Bay Area named Corby Yates who bears watching. He’s about 18 or 19. Offstage, he’s this polite soft-spoken young man. On stage, he turns into this bellowing blues monster and rips the place up. I recommend seeing him if he’s in your neck of the woods.
Awwwriiiight! I found another Camel fan, at last. What’s you beverage of choice, pal? 
Go West, Go West…
without question, the greatest guitarist of all time is johnny winter
Well, for that emotional impact I mentioned, Ice is the clear winner. Have you ever seen Andy play that live? Amazing.
Other than that, I’m partial to the early stuff, Mirage, and Moonmadness.
The Reverend Horton Heat
Alex Lifeson
Igor Yuzov and Zhenya Kolykhanov of The Red Elvises.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Hetfield’s comrade, Kirk Hammett. I think Hammett is actually a better guitarist than Hetfield, and I really like Het’s playing. Just listen to Kirk’s solos in Fade to Black and One if you doubt his qualifications. And just for the record, post-Black Album Metallica is not worse than pre-Black, it’s just different.
(As an aside, Cliff Burton was the best bass player ever.)
-brianjedi
Right on brianjedi, Kirk Hammett does rock! He blows Hetfield away fully. But I have to stick with Tom Morello as best guitarist (in my lifetime anyway). He gives me goosebumps…