Zakk Wylde - Sweet jesus... I don't know what else to say... the dude absolutely rips. I was reading that other huge thread and someone was saying that hearing "shred" does nothing for them. By and large, I agree (if it's sterile shred for sure), but when I hear Zakk "shred", I just wanna go and rip someone's head off. :D
Ross Childress (Collective Soul) - Here is one guy that can rip; I wish that he'd to it more. That being said, he is the only guitarist in popular music today that plays anything that's even remotely challenging.
Stevie Ray Vaughn - What a loss. When I first heard Crossfire, it was like a slap across the face. I remember catching him and Joe Satriani on MTV unplugged. They both played the same night, and one of the things that really grabbed me was the audience reaction to both guitarists. There was this one fast run that SRV did that had the audience cheering wildly... it wasn't as quick or as clean as any of Satriani's licks but man.... you could feel it. Satriani's flawless shredding never recieved more than polite applause his entire set... need I say more?
Jerry Cantrell - The only way I can describe his playing is incredibly organic. His guitar sounds like a living, breathing thing... and those riffs...
Slash - Not only for his soulful (and sometimes endearingly sloppy) playing, but for his whole attitude. He looks like the epitome of the "too cool for you" guitarist, but at the same time, he's very unassuming and humble. Gotta love that.
Is that five? *counts* Yeah, that's five. :)