Love this thread.
I remember seeing Stanley Jordan's soundcheck at Tipitina's in NO during 1997 Jazz Fest. I was writing for the Park Record, a newspaper in Park City, Utah at the time and got to interview him a bit. The sound check was basically about 5 people in the club during the afternoon. It was surreal.
John McLaughlin is the only guitarist I met where I was literally too floored to handle it, he actually had a visible glowing aura around him, and no I was not tripping in any way. That was backstage at the Beacon Theater in NYC. But we all know him.
How about JD Simo? I just discovered him randomly and damn, this kid smokes. Clearly he is a fan of the aforementioned late great Danny Gatton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTtYkhj9Ffk
Since I don't know how to put the video on here, maybe someone could do it for me with this link.
JD Simo. Bad Ass.
There are only two mantras. Yum and yuk. Mine's yum.