I know this will not be the winner, but my vote goes to Keith Richards. Sure, there are probably a thousand guitarists that can play faster or more complicated stuff; but in the end, isn't it about who sounds the best?

While tons of other guitarists have come and gone, Richards keeps laying down fat riff after fat riff. Look at "Satisfaction" from the 60's, "Gimme Shelter" from the 70's, "Start Me Up" from the 80's, and "Saint of Me" from the 90's. And he's still going strong today. . .

Sure, it takes a lot of skill to play fast. But a rarer, and more important skill, is the ability to play something simple and make it sound awesome. Nobody can take a simple riff and make it sound better than Richards.

Jimi Hendrix. You don't just have to take my word for it either. Check out Rolling Stone's Ranking of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time.

The article says it better than I can:

"What he played was fucking loud but also incredibly lyrical and expert. He managed to build this bridge between true blues guitar — the kind that Eric Clapton had been battling with for years and years — and modern sounds, the kind of Syd Barrett-meets-Townshend sound, the wall of screaming guitar sound that U2 popularized. He brought the two together brilliantly."

How can you not mention David Gilmour from Pink Floyd? If you love guitar solo's check out the video below. Pretty incredible solos (and of course Gilmour's is #1)

I don't know why Jimmy Page isn't up here yet...He's a freaking GOD! I mean, just watch this video..its amazing!

Eddie Van Halen. Hands-down. You can't beat Eruption.

Mark Knopfler should be in the discussion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFX7zVXlypc

Jimi Hendrix or Santana are the 2 greatest guitarists of all time in my personal opinion. Most kids now would say the guitarists from Dragonforce -.- that saddens me. Jimi and Santana are both neck and neck to me, they were always jammin out great vibes and the sounds they made with those guitars were and still are heaven to my ears =]

i'll say orianthi..she's so cool, and her guitar solos blows me up!! i also think that its so cool that she was mj's last guitar player..she rocks!!

Jimi Hendrix can't be beat. No one could reach the loud notes on the guitar he played.