I lived in the San Francisco bay area as a 17 year old in 1967. My rock listening history includes a lot of different eras and genres. So, for me, for a while, CSN was great (Suite, Judy Blue Eyes), but my tastes evolved as Rock evolved although I have to admit that I never grew to love “angry” rock. I got easily side-tracked by the pop side with people like Karen Carpenter, or the country side with Ray Stevens and his biting humor.
There are so many good musicians that have had the stage that it is hard for me to choose just one.
If I did have to choose though, it would be Phil Keaggy.
Did you by chance ever see Michael Hedges? I found him just a few years back thanks to youtube. I would have loved to see him live.