I'm really glad I latched on to players like Satch, Vai, Beck, Hendrix, EJ, Santana, early on in my playing. More than just technical skill, they each have a very unique style and sense of melody that separates them from the pack. That's really what turned me onto them even if I didn't fully realize it then. Those guys could crossover genres of music well too, and their song catalogs are more diverse. Which is the main reason I don't listen to YJM because he's never really changed his approach or writing. It takes more than being a shred master to keep me interested, even though I appreciate great shred.