Sammy Hagar knows his guitar players. In the past, he's worked with Eddie Van Halen, Ronnie Montrose and Neal Schon. But in his opinion, Joe Satriani tops them all.

"I've made this statement a million times - some people don't like it, some people do - but Joe is the best guitarist I have ever played with," Hagar said recently.

"That's a strong statement. I realize that," Hagar continued. "You've got to give Eddie [Van Halen] a lot of love for his innovation of what he did as a stylist with the guitar. He broke a lot of ground. But Joe is a master. He can play anything and everything - folk, blues, jazz, hard rock, soft rock, fusion, you name it."

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/sammy-hagar-joe-satriani-is-the-best-guitarist-ive-ever-played-with-205584?cpn=RSS&source=MRNEWS

I'm not sure Sammy's word is any more reliable these days than Eddie Van Halen's. I love Sammy. I think he is one of the five greatest singers in music history. His vocal talent was the perfect match for Eddie's guitar genius. However, I think Sammy went away from the 2004 Van Hagar reunion tour as jaded as Eddie did. I've seen Sammy on countless talk shows where he spends a portion of the time bad mouthing Eddie. I have a lot of respect for Sam for sticking by Michael Anthony though when Eddie and Alex held him out to dry.

I have to agree with Mike here. The Van Halens did Michael Anthony wrong - BIG TIME! - so good for Sammy for sticking by him. That said, Sammy just seems more and more bitter every time he's interviewed. Did anyone here see him and David Lee Roth on that tour in 2002??

Joe Satriani IS the master. As great as Eddy is, Joe is dedicated and disciplined. He's taught so many guitarists, such as leading icons as Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, Alex Skolnick of Testament (whom I saw tonight in Seattle) and Larry Lalonde of Primus. Joe's great in concert as well. You can trust Sammy when he sings the praises of Joe. :cool: