10 Greatest Guitarists From The '80s - The Guys Who Rewrote The Book
3. Steve Vai
Steve Vai holds the unique distinction in his career of having stepped in to replace both Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. He played with David Lee Roth's band after Roth left Van Halen and he stepped in for Malmsteen when Yngwie left Alcatrazz. There is no other player who could have taken on such disparate roles with such outstanding results. Even so, the reason Vai is at number three on this list is all about his own unique vision, best experienced on the seminal Passion And Warfare album.
One song says it all: five minutes of the most emotionally-charged feats of pyrotechnical genius ever recorded, For The Love Of God. Vai is able to blow through 500 mph flurries of notes yet still keep everything musical and soulful. Paradoxically, the main melody is relatively easy to play; the genius is in the conception, not the execution.
Vai has continued to push back the boundaries of invention, both musically and technically, coming up with designs for equipment that have revolutionised the way guitars are built and sounds are processed. Top all that off with an endearingly surreal sense of humour and a healthy dose of self-deprecation and you get a living legend.