Originally Posted by: magicninjaI think the 80's was the best decade for the guitar. Don't get me wrong I love classics from the 70's and the golden oldies but the eighties really defined rock imo. The ninties however really were terrible to rock. I like some grunge stuff but it was the worst decade yet. Hopefully in rocks case history repeats itself and we see another golden age rather than a decline.

I agree, most of te technical advances in rock guitar playing came from the 80's - Vai, Satriani, Becker, Malmsteen to name but a fraction. The good players were true greats in the 80's... I know they were influenced by 70's players such as Richie Blackmore & Eddie VH etc but they rose the bar in the 80's to a level which has not been matched to date.
Sure there were lots of "the scale goes up, the scale goes down" players too but at least they could play their instruments. 99% of all bands this decade (and the later half of the 90's) can only play a few chords and they manage to make onto the front of Guitar Magazine... what the hell is that all about!!??