First, to get anywhere in this argument we must define "best guitarist" or "musicianship".
Here is my definition of amazing musicianship: A musician who is technically proficient in his or her instrument in a musical way. One who varies his technical prowess. In other words, does not show off his full potential every single song or every second of the song, one who does not limit himself, one who has mastered there instrument and the art of music making, one who expresses his or her emotion through song. You get the point. Yes, most guitarists aren't technically amazing and express themselves amazingly, but is that amazing musicianship? Hell no. A musician is someone who creates or performs MUSIC. This is not showmanship we are talking about, this is musicianship. I do not give two s***s if Jimi Hendrix sways and jumps around more than John Petrucci, that has nothing to do with musicianship; that is showmanship, and are we talking about showman ship? No, we are talking about musicianship and playing the guitar. If I saw a person swaying back and forth and making "emotional" gestures with his mouth and not playing any music, I don't become emotionally attacted to it. The music is what stirs emotion, nothing more. And yes, showmanship does accompany musicianship really well adding an enhanced effect. And the negative connotation put on "shredders" is f***ing bulls***. I want you guys to search Steve Vai's "For the Love of God" on youtube and then you feed me your emotional bulls*** to me. He combines technial ability, feeling, emotion, and tells a story. In my mind that is amazing musicianship. This man has dedicated his life to music and guitar. He is a guitar player. Should Jimi Hendrix be the number 1 guitarist of all time in rolling stone? Hell no. The fact that Steve Vai, Petrucci, Gilbert, Satriani, etc are not on there is pathetic. And it is not opinion. This mean ARE better at playing guitar than Jimi Hendrix. That is a fact. And Half of them display the "showmanship" of Jimi Hendrix also. And by God Steve Vai and Satriani were just as innovative, particularly yngwie malmsteen, no one before him was shredding, and especially not with the classical style of his. Al Di Meola is a much better guitarist than hendrix too, listen to him and tell me hendrix influenced him, because there is not an ounce of hendrix influence in Di Meola. Am I saying I don't like Jimi's playing? No, he is a solid blues player who was innovative. But this is a new age, a time for new players to emmerge. Jimi Hendrix is overrated. When you ask some random person who is the best guitarist? The will most likely say Jimi Hendrix. That is completely wrong. I would understand if the question was "Who looked like he was having a good time on stage" But best guitarist" And people act like none of us "shredders" have heard Jimi's music or we don't know anything about him. Haha what a laugh. Ask your self this, have you heard full abulms of Vai?Petrucci?. Why don't you give them a chance before you spew out, "they just play fast" Give me a break. Our popular culture and media is the result of this. nothing more. Am I talking about the art in music? Am I talking about expressing yourseld through music? NO I AM FUKCING TALKING ABOUT "BEST GUITARIST" GUITARIST=ONE WHO PLAYS GUITAR. HERE IS A TRANSLATION OF BEST GUITARIST. ONE WHO PLAYS GUITAR BEST, AND IS JIMI HENDRIX ONE OF THEM? NO.That is what I am sick of, Jimi Hendrix still being deemed as best guitarist. Music as a whole is an artform used to express yourself and that is all that matters, if you are "best guitarist" or not, if you are expressing yourself through music, you are a musician. Saying "Jimi Hendrix" is the best guitarist and "there is no best guitarist" ideal. All in all, artistic ability is opinion and has nothing to do with "good musicianship" But if you say someone is one of the "best guitarists" you better have some solid facts to back it up. Hendrix should not be number one on a "Best Guitarist" list.

That's your opinion I know a lot of people who would disagree with you, including myself but your opinion is your opinion

Hendrix absolutely revolutionized the art of guitar playing.

He completely changed how people thought about and used guitars.

Define greatness however you want, but Hendrix essentially *created* from scratch what we consider the modern guitar sound. Petrucci, Malmsteen, Van Halen, Clapton, etc, were all highly influential and are extremely proficient guitarists, but even Petrucci and Malmsteen will almost certainly tell you that Hendrix is *the* most important figure in the history of modern guitar technique.

If he's so horrible then how come so many people say their music is influenced by him? Hmmmm....I wonder.

Here is an interesting interview with Malmsteen talking about Hendrix:

link [www.djnoble.demon.co.uk]

"Along with Paganini (epileptic or otherwise), Yngwie has frequently cited his other main influences as being JS Bach and Jimi Hendrix."

Vai on Hendrix:
link [www.djnoble.demon.co.uk]

"I listened to and tried to figure out all of that really beautiful stuff like, you know, 'Castles Made Of Sand' and 'One Rainy Wish' and all the really cool stuff that Hendrix I think unfortunately is not quite as known for as his wild feedback and playing with his teeth and all that stuff. Uh, so that was a big influence on me."

OH OK so when malmsteen is playing a bach cover he is showing his hendrix influence right? Because bach traveled in forward in time and stole some of hendrix's music.
He is an amazing musiscian, FOR A BLUES PLAYER.
Oh and Santana was around at the exact same time Hendrix was and he played guitar very similar to him, so why don't we praise santana? ITS BECAUSE HE IS STILL ALIVE AND HENDRIX DIED! Its all martyrism. Petrucci used so many techniques that Hendrix never used in his entire life, and petrucci actually plays things besides blue pentatonic, the easiest scale to learn.

Satriani on Hendrix:

"So, I took some time away and then decided to play guitar the day Jimi Hendrix died."

"How does it feel to be an influence on so many guitarists? Who were your influences?

Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Billy Gibbons, Todd Rundgren, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker."

Look who he listed first.

*shrug* I don't have to convince you or anything.

Go talk to Petrucci or Santana or any of your other guitar idols and see what they have to say about Hendrix. The consensus far and wide is that Hendrix is indeed the single most important figure in the history of modern guitar. My brother, an accomplished bassist for 20 years, agrees. Enough professional musicians and music critics agreed to make Hendrix #1 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest guitarists ever. Virtually every professional guitarist lists Hendrix as one of their main influences.