I think of guitar as a bit of a balancing act. There are several areas you can be proficient with the guitar, that's how a very drunk Joe Walsh can smoke Vai, Satch, and May at a Spanish guitar festival - he out toned and out styled them. They and the bassist were busy trying to out do eachother while Walsh played some sloppy ass slide guitar and his signature talk box solo (the song was of course Rocky Mountain Way) which unlike the high speed wanking going on around him actually fit the song.

With Hammett I just don't hear the creativity or "substance" to make up for how sloppy the guy is. Listening to him really does nothing for me in the least.