My top 16 favorite shredders and virtuoso's.

From fusion to rock and jazz to blues - this is my short list.

Okay, so let me preface this by saying, I am not a shredder-guitarist by any means. I am a rhythm player and a bassist. I do, however, appreciate a melodic guitarist who can play the balance of fast and slow lines equally. A thousand notes every four measures throughout an entire song, just doesn't impress me. If I, as a listener, can't absorb the melody, then it simply loses its value. However, there are a lot of shredders/virtuoso's who can actually do both. This is my list (in no particular order), of my favorite guitarists who aren't afraid of whole notes and big spaces.