First time I heard “Running With The Devil” in 1978, I knew I was hearing something unique and new. I bought album the next day and my jaw hit the floor the first time I heard Eruption. I could not believe I was hearing an electric guitar make those notes so fast and so clearly differentiated.
EVH was perhaps not TECHNICALLY the best player, but when combining the whole package — technical playing, originality, use of tech to get new sounds, stage presence, and longevity, EVH makes a solid argument for “GOAT Hard Rock Guitarist”.
I think it’s a race between EVH and Hendrix, as to how many young boys picked up a guitar because of them.
That was where Eddie stood out - in the 70's "great guitarists" were guys who played as fast as they could but sloppy (names like Frank Marino, Pat Travers, and yes...Jimmy Page), with a lot of missed notes. After EVH, players like Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen emerged to set the new standard, and the neo-classical shred era that followed would no longer tolerate inaccuracy.
Of course today - now that rock/metal has become a tiny niche nearly drowned by a flood of hip-hop-mangled pseudo R&B - some of the younger players are phenomenal but sound almost too perfect, like somebody programmed a synthesizer. :)