i like matt bellamy even though new muse (post-black holes) has really turned me off of them. absolution was just such an awesome album though...
one of my favorites is this guy steve pecaro. he plays at a lot of bars around st louis. covers all the greats. hendrix, SRV, etc. and he's damn entertaining to watch. big old fat guy with a pick between his thumb and index finger and a lit cigarette between his pinky and ring finger. he always plays with the most ridiculous beat-to-tar strats. it looks like they got into a fight with a belt sander and lost.
one of my favorite guitarists is tim armstrong. not necessarily because of his guitar skills, but because he was pivotal in so many important bands of my musical taste. operation ivy, rancid, etc...
he's the mastermind behind the animated shows "home movies" and "metalocalypse". this is a great clip from "home movies". he does the voice of the main character (which i think is based off himself), and he also does the voice/guitar work for a side character "dwayne". cut to 1:30 for one of my favorite scenes from this awesome show. "now make it sound like my old lady's cat"
seriously go rent/buy/steal home movies the show is freakin' awesome, and there is some kicking guitar work in just about every episode... from the theme song to the music that plays in between scenes. i think my favorites are the "guitarmageddon" episode, and the one where dwayne creates a rock opera based off the life of franz kafka...
and now some free advertising to some of my local favorites. two of the local guys i love to see are steve pecaro (i actually saw him play last night!) and alvin jett. st louis has some very deep blues/jazz roots not unlike chicago... but different. seriously if anyone on this board is every finding themselves in st louis, missouri, send me a message i know of some good places to go. this is alvin jett playing at BB's which is a few blocks from my apartment.