Hello, I'm new here. I just happened to stumble across this forum while google searching for the tab of the Michael Angelo song "Yngwie can't touch this" and i honestly laughed my ass off when seeing this topic. But after reading almost every post...I noticed everyone had their opinions on Angelo and Malmsteen. I honestly don't think you can compare speed with melodic structure, however there's one guitarist i don't believe anyone mentioned who i believe can honestly do both. Michael Romeo, of the band Symphony X, can phrase better and can play faster than either Angelo or Malsteen if you ask me. And to think that the student surpassed the teacher (being that Angelo taught Romeo). Michael Romeo is my favorite guitarist and if you really want to see a good instructional video with awesome exercises, you should check out his Guitar Chapter video. The greatest thing about Romeo to me, is that along with being a guitar mastermind, he can compose symphonies into his music. If you ever want to hear a masterpiece by the band Symphony X, pick up their newest album "The Odyssey" where their final song on the album is a 24 minute masterpiece, that totally surpasses Angelo's or Yngwie's melodic composition. I saw them last nigt perform at the Galaxy in Santa Ana and I must say, it was the best damn show i've been to in about 4 years. So anyway, if you want to hear a guitarist with speed, precision, and high grade theory composition, check out Michael Romeo and his band Symphony X.

My Top Ten favorite guitarists:

Michael Romeo
Paul Gilbert
Michael Angelo
Chris Impellitteri
Uli Jon Roth
Stanley Jordan
John Petrucci
Yngwie Malmsteen
Gary Hoey
Steve Lukather