Best Guitarist vs Guitar Hero

Noteworthy is the fact that most everyone's "best guitarist" picks, in general, are from the 1960's thru 1980's. Yes, a good portion of these guitarists are still performing but the age of great bands having a great lead guitarists has passed like the manual typewriter. Metal is the lone wolf continuing the tradition.
Which brings up the issue of the game, "Guitar Hero"
I have mixed feelings about it's popularity. I think it's great to introduce a new generation to classic rock and great lead guitarists but I also think time could be better spent actually learning and playing an instrument rather than the hours spent pretending to play.
Admittedly though, as a youth, I played one mean air guitar.......
Disclaimer: I got my teen daughter a fairly decent acoustic guitar, gave her lots of encouragement, a few guitar books and some preliminary lessons. She half heartedly plucked away at it and within 2 weeks the guitar started collecting dust.
Oh well I thought. After a year and no playing, she pestered me to get her Guitar Hero. I caved in and got it. She played that game avidly for about 3 months then, unexpectedly picked up the acoustic guitar and started playing.
The Guitar Hero game now collects dust, she is practicing guitar daily and in a band. Coincidence?

That said, my picks for:
BEST MELODIC ROCK GUITARIST(not fastest or best technical but most melodic/creative)
*Jimi Hendrix
It's not because he played fast or had great technique. It's because his playing was so damn melodic.
While his sounds and feedback were way over the top, every note was perfectly placed on his studio works.
Not so much so with his live performances, melodic but sketchy at best.

*Frank Zappa
Up until recently, I regarded Zappa as sort of parody rock, poking fun at rock and popular culture.
Going back over his catalog of songs I have come to appreciate his musical genius and great arrangments.
Here is a guy who one week has Yoko Ono yodelling incoherently at his show and goofed on her(trust me, she was so bad
she made a room full of screaming infants sound like the Vienna Boys Choir) and the next he is performing
with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Again, a great melodic player and great composer.

*Jeff Beck
The Madonna/David Bowie of guitar. Constantly reinventing himself and a trend setter.
His constantly changing band personel has been a spring board for many a great musician;
Jan Hammer, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Jennifer Batten...etc.
Melodic, inventive and plays without a pick.

*Eric Clapton
He passes the "melodic" test with flying colors. In the late 60' and early 70's everyone was copying his
sound and style. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
To this day, I still marvel and attempt to recreate his solos. Although I find it hard to forgive his excruciatingly
long, drawn out 12 minute solo on Layla, he does redeemed himself with his unplugged version.

*David Lindley
Someone recently mentioned Lindley's slide guitar work and I would have to agree, perhaps, because by chance I grew up down the
block from him and borrowed his brother guitar amp more than once.
That said, he is the one who gave Jackson Brown his sound. All the haunting slide guitar work was David. Most notable
on the song, "Doctor My Eyes"
Hugely melodic and even better in later years with Rayo-X

BEST RHYTHM GUITARIST
I am not talking about the normal second guitarist like, say, Malcom Young who backs up AC/DC axman and brother Angus Young.
I mean the guitarist who can carry a band with chords only.

Pete Townsend
An oh so decent lead guitarist but phenomenal execution of strumming and chords.

Eddie Van Halen
Many will disagree and feel he should be on the best lead gutarist list for his inventive two hand, harmonic pinging style.
Yeah maybe, a whole generation of up and coming guitarists did copied him.
It is his rhythm work that carried the band and is usually mistaken for "lead" guitar work.
Truth is he did both Chord-lead-chord-lead.

Lindsay Buckingham
Great finger picker and exceptional ear toward chordal harmonies
Fleetwood Mac was a fairly accomplished group prior to his arrival in the band with Stevie Nicks.
He had some big shoes to fill following guitarists Greenwood and Welch. He proved not only up to the task
but far surpassed their skills.

Keith Richards
Just a great, great rhythm ace and as pure rock n roll as you can get.

Before you get your dander up and your feathers ruffled about who didn't make the list, please note:
No two musicians will ever agree on "The best" of anything....TripDave