I appreciate all styles of music & think your totally wrong on the Joe Satriana thing. It's people like Satch that make rock guitar a legit music form, it gives people aspiration to become better & realize there's more to rock music then pentatonic scales & 145 progressions.
When a student comes to me & says he's inspired by satch & Vai I'm excited, because I know they are going to work hard & have a Zest for learning. What really p**#**$!! me off is when a student comes to me & says he's inspired by Nirvana & all they wanna do is slam power-chords around, you can't even get them to play a freakin scale.
I agree, I think Satriana's playing can be alittle egotistical at times, but it's better then the other extreme. Personally I like guys that can utilize both speed and compassion into there playing, like Larry Carlton and Robben Ford
Also, don't compare Satch to John Lee Hooker, that's like comparing apples to oranges