you're mistaking ability for speed, there's more to being a great guitarist than playing fast. yes, he is good but his solos dont flow together to make a great tune, just random fast notes

Steve Vai owns. Original, quirky, technically perfect... ok HERMAN LI??? Herman Li is utterly average and is horribly owned by Steve. Maybe in some kind of "make-a up a swee' sah po'k" competition herman would stand a chance... but BETTER THAN VAI??? No way. That said, Herman is short and nice, and his accent never fails to amuse. I ran into him in a urinal once... ... ... ... ... Steve Vai is sickeningly good. Only Luca Turilli could ever match him. And Luca SLAYS Herman and Sam!!!!

There is no way that there is a better guitaristthan Steve Vai in the world. The other classic guitarists like Jimmy Page, Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen are all great (FOR THEIR TIME)!!! but Steve Vai is Just technically better than the rest, some might say he's the perfect guitarist. Hendrix could not play a quarter of the stuff Va can and anyone who says different obviously has not seen Vai play live. Hendrix couldnt have played one of Vai's songs because nowadays he wouldnt be that good. Herman li from Dragonforce is possibly better than Vai and I think that no one has ever been able to match the skill of Li and i think that no one ever will... Listen to the Dragonforce song "Fury of the Storm" as proof.

Clearly a proficient and talented player. . .but I've always felt that something was missing from his music. . .

bigheaded van halen clone...no emotion and no originality

this man puts emotion into shredding

Steve Vai is the god of guitar he can do anything and much better than any other guitarist out there. His finger tapping is crazy and his soloing speed is astounding and he is just over all the best guitarist out there.

what the f@ck, u guys are not yes jimmi and jimmi would be the GREATEST but steve is like a f@cking alien with lightning for fingers and the ability to make metal heads cry from the most emotional music ever.

Vai is the god ov soulfull, emotional playing. He is concious of every note played. Verry unique music. Any of you who deny his skill are real douchebags. And you who can play any name on here except Vai, try Laiho. Vai inspired, and also verry dificult.

Steve vai is the God of guitar. The only reason he is not as well known is because of the overweight potheads that dont know crap about guitar that make over hendrix. I am a guitarist myself and i can play any name on here perfectly except for vai's works.

Too much whammy

To full of himself. Started out as an Eddie Van Halen clone, still pretty much I think. He does have great musical knowledge, but over rated as a guitar player.

He's good, but his playing is a little too exotic for my taste.

good god people.all this kissing ass stuff ain't never gonna getcha backstage at a vai show.vai has great work ethics and his knowledge of music theory is second to none.however if that is what you are basing your total judgement on,check out the g3 dvd with yngwie malmsteen.yngwie leaves no doubt.

He's done so much for guitar, Frank Zappa, David Lee roth, Whitesnake and his solo stuff... He has also started my favourite line of guitars ''Ibanez JEM's''

he's the god of the guitar,you can't understand his talent without watching him playing,he's an alien.

i envy his guitar collection and envy even more his ability...

Basically, in my opinion, Steve Vai is the greatest guitar player of all time. Those who play guitar know that his technique is incredible, musicians know his chordal voicings and music is unique, and even those who are not musicians can respect his genius. The only people who don't like Steve Vai are those who have no idea about any aspect of music. To expand on this, let me explain something. Most guitar players are idiots. That's a fact. The players in Korn for example, or the players for miscellaneous punk bands. They rely on the Drop D perfect fifth power chord... and pretty much only that. Their solos are just unimaginative scale runs with no real purpose. There are, however, the musician's musicians, and Steve Vai is a musician's musician. I have analyzed several of his songs, and his use of music theory and composition is incredible. Steve Vai is a greater guitar playing force than any of these overrated slackers (Tom Morello, for starters). He is not only an amazing guitar player, he is also a musical genius who, had he been born in the same time period, would have rivaled such classical composers as Mozart or Beethoven.