Taste is a very personal thing, not everyone has to like the same players. I find Van Halen to be a very unmusical player, but that’s just my taste. I prefer lyricism and subtlety in my playing. I part with most people in also not caring for Jimi Hendrix, surely VH’s major influence. Ry Cooder---now THERE’S a guitarist! Another too-infrequently mentioned player is Richard Thompson.
When Buddy Rich was going in the hospital as he was dying, the nurse asked him if there was anything he couldn’t take, meaning medicine of course. His reply was "Yeah. Country music". Not thought of as producing great musicians, that is an over-simplification. Ever heard Albert Lee’s playing?