Two of the most criminally underappreciated players of all time - and now dead - were Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan. Both were masters of the Tele and pretty much recognised by more famous players as being better than themselves. Eric Clapton pretty well acknowledged Buchanan was a better blues player than himself.

Of rock players still knocking around I'd say the most impressive is Greg Howe, who started off doing Van Halen/Satch stuff but now is more fusion oriented. Check out his debut 'Greg Howe', his Van Halenish 'High Gear' and the fusion 'Introspection' to see what I mean. Boy has he got speed, as fast as Shawn Lane for sure.

Tony McAlpine is also one hell of a player and has toured with Steve Vai. His solo stuff is a bit too neo-classical for my taste but he's done great work with fusion trio CAB which features Dennis Chambers on drums. :cool: