I could lay down a pretty good list of wonderful guitar players but for me Eddie Van Halen encompassed everything you could want in a rock and roll guitar great. He was high energy and could play fast but he always did it in a musical way. He wrote great riffs and invented new techniques of playing. Even if Eddie wasn't inventing a new technique he did a new spin on an old one. He had great tone. He was a true innovator and not only created one of a kind riffs but guitars as well. Ed had great stage presence and seemed to be having a blast up there.
The Eddie I mentioned above seems so far from the fruitloop he has become. I think many of his former fans scratch their heads wondering what in the fuck happened. The guy went from being one of the coolest guitar Gods of all time to a fucking geek.