Slash is a decent player, he is sloppy for sure, his techniqe is nothing out of ordinary but he has his own style and plays well when it comes to the heavy bluesy genre.

Anyway, you can't even compare him with people like:

Allan Holdsworth (if you thought Steve Vai was inhuman then listen to this guy, even the somewhat egocentric Yngwie Malmsteen said he was in complete admiration of this guy and couldn't understand how he did it). This is according to many serious musicians the best electric guitarist ever.


Steve Vai (he plays with such perfection and doesn't rely on his techniqe although it is remarkable. He can play with such compassion. Listen to For the Love of God etc)

George Benson (an incredible jazz guitarist in the standardgenre)

Frank Gambale (jazz/fusion guitarist: warning: crazy sweep picking)

Paco De Lucia (this man plays with incredible rythm and feeling, and his chops are fantastic)

Yngwie Malmsteen (he has lost it...nowdays he is only into shredding IMO, but 20 years ago he was the most talanted guitarplayer in the rock genre since Hendrix. Unfortunately he didn't use his talent very well IMO. Regardless of his somewhat sad persona these days I recommend the grammy nominated album "Rising Force" from 1984.


Jimi Hendrix (words not needed...but I'll say something anyway: the most innovative guitarist ever IMO...a genious)

Of course there are so many other guitarsts that are well worth mentioning and it is almost impossible to compare different genres but there are a couple of factors that I as an guitarist since 20 years myself always look for:

Originality
Musicality
music ear
tone

All the above holds those qualities IMO
[Edited 7/15/05 17:48pm]