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I always found Hendrix to be highly overrated, as well. I could name several guitarists who could mop the floor with him (Frank Marino, Gary Moore, Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughn at his peak, etc.)....but I think what finally turned me around was "Band of Gypsies", still one of the best live albums ever released. Yeah, I know, it's an OLD album now.......but you listen to that boy's chops on that disc, and it just floors you.

Any of us who have been slinging an electric six strng for years that listens to his work on that album is compelled to say "OOOOOOHHHHH........ok ok...........I see it now. Damn!!!"

I always found Hendrix to be highly overrated, as well. I could name several guitarists who could mop the floor with him (Frank Marino, Gary Moore, Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughn at his peak, etc.).

But Jimi was the original, the others are copycats. Could they play better than Hendrix, maybe. But are they as original as Hendrix, hell no.

Here are three guitarists I've found are underrated:

1. John Fogerty. Yeah, the early Creedence stuff is fairly simple, but he's really turned on the juice the last couple of years. He's actually studied and practiced since the breakup, so he's a much better guitarist now than he ever was in CCR.

2. Phil Solem, of the Rembrandts. While they're best known for the "Friends" theme, Solem handled some incredible axe duties on such tracks as "Follow You Down" and "Rolling Down the Hill."

3. Glenn Tilbrook, of Squeeze. OK, so this man can do everything, and thirty years on still has that sweet voice. However, his electric guitar leads reach virtuoso level, and his solo acoustic shows are a real treat as he condenses all aspects of Squeeze songs down to one acoustic guitar.

Honorable mention -- Prince. He's weird, he's perverted, but he smokes on guitar. He played "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the R&RHOF last year and blew Eric Clapton out of the water.