top ten reasons why Eddie Van Halen is NOT the world's Greatest Guitar player

# 2 Eric Johnson
Eric is true guitarist's guitarist. His mastery of all styles of playing, as well as his carefully developed tone (earning him the nick-name, "the Tone Ranger") has garnered him praise and admiration from guitarists all over the world. Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughn are among some of his greatest admirers. In 1990 he released an album called "Ah Via Musicom" which produced the single, "the Cliffs of Dover" which garnered not only a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, but also produced a platinum album, which is a rare feat for a man primarily known as a guitar hero. Satriani, Vai, Hendrix, Vaughn, Beck, and Clapton are among the only other guitar heros to have major success as a solo guitar-slinger. Once you get a taste of Eric's amazing guitar tone, you can pick it out in any song he plays on. If you hear a Hendrix song, you know it is him even without the vocals, the same with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Eric Johnson is one of the rare breed of guitarists who has spent as much time defining his SOUND, as he has spent developing his CHOPS. Eric is one of the first rock guitarists to incorporate "Hybrid" picking into his chops. This method of picking is used primarily by country and Gypsy Jazz guitarists. My #9 pick, Brad Paisley is a perfect example of a Hybrid picker. This is a live version of one of the greatest instrumental songs EVER written. This version of "the Cliffs of Dover" was recorded live at Austin City Limits, and is proceded by some very impressive fretboard fireworks. The actual song begins at 2:13 in the video, but all of the playing before it is enough to make even Eddie pull out his hair...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miex7SQLHUk
and anther style Eric is a master of- fingerstyle acoustic blues...almost sounds like an Adrian Legg song...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebLaXvkPRR4
and finally, the intro to one of the most famous instructional guitar videos ever..this was, and still is "Hot Licks" biggest selling video. In just two minutes, you see and hear exactly what a guitar MASTER can do.. completely improvise and make it sound pre-arranged and practiced...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htobScsOB70