Jimi was a singular artist. His... personal oddities and addiction issues aside, he was not only a brilliant technical guitarist but his music was a wild romp; he crossed styles and influences as rapidly as he could shift chords on his Stratocaster. While it's hard to pick an illustrative piece from his ample library of work, one that really shows his talent with the guitar is the 1967 tune, "Little Wing."

Frank Zappa

Zappa was one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century. Not only did he engage in his own wild, free-wheeling style of rock, but he also wrote and conducted symphonies. His symphony album, London Symphony Orchestra - Zappa, contained works written and conducted by the man himself. He was also a quick, able guitarist, a master at improvising and at times, lending his own unique take to other people's tunes. On his long concert tours, he traveled with a 12- to 14-piece band and rarely did the same song the same way twice.

A great example of Zappa's guitar work comes from the 1991 concert album The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, that song being the Zappa mainstay, "Zomby Woof."

Jerry Garcia

Next up, we have the heart and soul of one of the greatest concert bands in history, that being the Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia. Jerry wielded a custom Stratocaster throughout much of his career, and he wielded it like no other; he could make the guitar dance. One of the best examples is a Grateful Dead staple piece, and while the band put different spins on the long song throughout their concert history, my favorite is the fifteen-minute cut of "Eyes Of The World" from a 1991 concert in Giants Stadium. My wife and I saw the Dead in Denver that same year, and for $17, we were able to watch the Boys of Summer for almost six hours. In "Eyes Of The World," we see some of Jerry's best ever; his guitar notes sound like clear water running over pebbles in a mountain stream.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Next up comes a man out of the great state of Texas, a master of rock tinged with blues, a capable vocalist but a brilliant wielder of the (again) Fender Stratocaster, a number of which he used through his fast-paced career. When Stevie Ray played, you could smell the Texas dust, you could feel the hot Texas wind, you could feel the West Texas sun beating down. There is no better example of his work than from the 1983 concert album Live At The El Mocambo, with the song "Texas Flood" bringing Stevie Ray's best work to the fore.

Carlos Santana

At last, we come to the one man on the list who is still treading the mortal coil, that being Carlos Santana. Carlos is best known for his Spanish-language work, and he wields his custom Paul Reed Smith with gusto, tearing up the chords, running up and down the scale so quickly and beautifully that it's hard to follow. A great example of that comes from the 2000 album Corazón Espinado, where he performs the song of the same name, backed up by the Latin rock group Maná.

It's hard to settle on just one guitarist that is the best. That's not the case, of course, with drummers. Neil Peart, as ever, stands alone.

To everybody reading, I hope you all have a rocking weekend!