Yes, of course there are better musicians than Steve Vai. Again, I didn't argue that. I simply argued that Vai is a masterful musician, because of his song-writing and his shredding...which may not be the best, but I still haven't seen any members on this forum that can outshred Vai except Marcel Coenen. Nor do I think less of a guy's music because of insane chops. This type of issue has been brought up in numerous threads previously. Generally speaking, there is some truth to stereotypes, however. Fast shredding can be soulful, but often times it becomes mindless crap. The soulful aspect depends on how songs/solos are arranged. Arrangement is everything. Bellas, Marcel, and Shawn Lane are all good shredders. Without arrangement, many shred solos become scale excercises.