I guess the topic title didn't specify it must be a metal guitarist, so I chose "other"
In my mind, it's Paco de Lucia
If you just love great music and guitar and don't mind non-metal stuff, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cadbYIzhqQ
then you'll probably understand where I am coming from. I mean what he does must be really technical and difficult and yet he makes it like super effortless (he looks everywhere but his guitar or his fingers and looks so laid back)
in the video is also Al di Meola, also a great guitarist and is also guest on one of the Derek Sherinian's albums Black Utopia

Tochak from SMAK,,,,Hendrix (you know)...

Im gonna have to say that alex skolnik and chuck shuldiner are way better than the choices here.

People like malmsteen and vai or vai would own anyone on that list.

Mmmmmmmmmm.....i'm gonna say Eric Rutan

I'm going to say Dave Mustaine... Megadeth is my all-time favorite band but besides him they are all great guitarist plus other ones... like Kerry King and Scott Ian

From this list I'll go with Jeff Waters.

It really depends on what you are playing, there are guitarrist that play really fast but they don't have much feeling or the opposite, there are other who are very thechnical and others who come up with new things al the time, and many other kinds. you can talk about for example who's tha fastest guitar player, but a "best guitar player" is a very open and relative question, because it also depends on who listens. a guitar player can be a piece of shit but everybody can love him

I'll go with Jeff Loomis from this list But my all time Favorite guitar player is Tim Roth of Into Eternity.

I think Jeff Loomis is the most skillful of the guitarists listed, but Dimebag is one of my favorite guitarists ever. No one can match the dude's Metal Grooves. Otherwise, Jari Maenpaa is probably my favorite guitarist of all so other would make sense. Then again you wrote "Of These People" so Dimebag wins. But what the fuck is Angus Young doing on this list?

Dimebag ,it's not hard to explain this choice

I chose Mustaine, although Dimebag was very close. They're both great guitarists, but I like better Mustaine's prog influented guitar playing while Dimebag plays pretty much the same riffs in every album. Too bad John Petrucci is not in the list, he's the best in my opinion.

Well you got Megadeth on there, just not the guitarist that gets my pick. Marty Friedman is in my opinion the greatest guitarist ever. His riffs sound like solos, and his solos are jaw-dropping.

Id Say Pettrucci, followed closely behind by Yngwie J. Malmsteen

I vote for Dave. But id Alexi was on this list, I would pick him. Some guitarist solo better than him and etc, but I love his performance.

Dime you're still the best and always will be!!!!He had everthing from performance to his precise playing live,it was like hearing the album,even better!!!!

I picked other Haven't you heard of Herman Li? (joke he is a good player not the best)

What about Brodrick?

I've voted other - thinking of Alex Skolnick of Testament; I also like his work helping Savatage on A Handful of Rain as well as his jazz project Alex Skolnick Trio - really good albums IMO.

I would have voted for all of them............and also Glenn Tipton.;D

For this list i'd say Dimebag, but my favorite guitarist has to be Marty Friedman

Out of the guitarists in the list, Jeff Loomis, closely followed by Jeffy Waters!

My fave guitarist of all time is Glenn Tipton though.

Ron Jarzombek, Al di Meola, Tony Macalpine, Allan Holdsworth, Robert Fripp, Mattias IA Eklundh are some of my favorite guitarists. As for saying who is "better", I feel stating an answer will assume my taste is "better" than others. Which it isn't.

Luca Turilli is good. I like his guitar playing in all Rhapsody's albums. Nice solos in Gargoyles, angels of darkness, Rain of a thousand flames and others.

Mmmm... for me Dimebag Darrel

Well, the author says "from this list" - not sure why he put "other" as a choice - so from this list I voted for Mustaine...gimme faster...FASTER!

Eddie Van Halen is the best "Performing" guitarist, but i also prefer Carcass' Bill Steer, Yngwie Malamsteen, and believe it or not, Sandy Vahdanni of Sadistik Exekution is damn decent for speed and technique. But Hands down, i would say for pure metal tastes, it is Gary Holt of Exodus. Sorry.

I think that the discussion about guitarists in the way like: "Who's better" is kinda silly...It's just my opinion...Every guitarist has his own style...yeah ofcourse all guitarists mostly depend on the same techniques and so...But every good guitarist should add something of his own...But If I had to choose from this list...(I think that "other" doesn't count)...then I'd definetly choose Dimebag.

They are all good in different ways but if you wanted the best over all guitarist it would have to be steve vai because he is constantly stretching the boundries. Out of the list there i would have to say dimebag or kirk

My favorite would have to be John Petrucci but i think even beginning guitarists can teach masters things that they dont know.

John Petrucci