"...I will say Jack White gets a lot of credit for being a true rock star who insists on mythology instead of being just a guy in a band that you know a lot about." Ah, but this list isn't supposed to be about the Top 50 "rock stars", it's the Top 50 guitarists! There are plenty of real, talented guitarists out there who's style is based on emotion, feeling and nuance. But, they still are talented guitarists. Jack White may have all the emotion in the world, and may know how to act like a "rock star", but his style is sloppy, unoriginal, noisy and devoid of inspiration. As I said before, he's a cheap imitation of Thurston Moore. But the scary thing is, he's probably better than Kurt Cobain!
As far as the video goes, I've never been much of a Steve Vai fan, but even less of a Joe Satch fan. What really strikes me, though, is comparing Eric Johnson's style to the other two. No tapping, no whammy tricks, mostly melodic and bluesy. Even when he cut loose and began tearing up the fretboard at the end of his section, it fit the song. The other two sounded like metal shredders playing blues.
All that aside, though, there's still no comparison between Vai, Satch, Petrucci and posers like Jack White and Kurt Cobain. None. And when writers try to elevate the non-talented to the levels of the talented just for the sake of appealing to a certain demographic, it pi**es me off to no end. Kind of like how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Shame) feels it necessary to include rappers in their nominations, even though rap is not rock and roll (or even music, for that matter)! White and Cobain are pretending to be guitarists, while the others are guitarists.
Of course, all of this is strictly IMNSHO and is worth exactly what you paid for it.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
But the two cannot be separated. Although "Joe who plays at 49th & Broadway every Wednesday" could probably very easily make this list and deserve it, there has to be some transcendence beyond just being the lead guitarist in a band. Look at the top 10, most of those guys are known beyond strictly playing. Keith, Jimi and Jimmy are all probably as well known for their off stage excesses. There are a lot of guys who are talented and will hit their marks every time, but that isn't enough to make these lists. Nels Cline probably belongs on the list, but outside of the solo on
Impossible Germany no one is at a Wilco show to see him. Bob Dylan has had some great guitarists through the years, but they won't make this list either. Being a star is just how you make these lists. It might be a shortcoming of lists like this, but at this point has to be an accepted shortcoming.
We don't really disagree on much, I think Jack White is more talented than you do, but admit there are more talented guys. However, none especially in the last decade have been as everywhere as Jack White and turning out quality work. He had 9 albums out in the last decade and at worst they were good (Horehound, The White Stripes debut) to great (Elephant and Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn). As the reader poll shows, this isn't just Gibson catering to a younger generation. Presumably there were a lot of older voters. From what I know of what a Gibson costs, probably a lot of older voters.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (a concept I don't approve of to begin with) should have never been called that. It is the Pop Music Hall of Fame. Sam Cooke was in the first class inducted. Not a rock artist, but someone that definitely belongs in a pop music hall of fame. Rap has been the dominant form of pop music for 20 years or so now.