Pretty sure Buckethead will go down as one of the greats of all time.
I first caught him on a tower records listening station in 1992 when I was seeking out Bill Laswell material (praxis) and he's graduated from a technical shredder to someone who can improvise with more feel than most any other guitarist I have seen.
His solos take you on a journey similar to Gilmour's long pink floyd solos or Jimmy Page's epic led zeppelin solos.
He was sidelined with an injury for a year but he's back putting out tons of new material per year.
Half of his tour dates are with an iPod as backing band but he gets out with a full band pretty often as well.
This video starts with a bit of shakey camera work with questionable audio but the camera guy gets his footing, adjusts the audio, and pulls off an epic filming of awesome quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsjYqm-2PDkThough he's known for his complex and fast playing, he's equally adept at sparse playing with simple but effective melodies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwXlzy9k7jIA lot of people can't get past the bucket and mask but this guy is pulling off an amazing "in character" persona that allows him to achieve stardom on his own terms without a lot of the negative things that go with being famous.
Once the bucket comes off, he can melt into the crowd....as well as any six foot five guy can.
Gibson also released a signature series Les Paul for him in a 27 inch scale but I believe he tunes it near standard tuning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckethead