I've only been learning for about a year (and I'm progressing as fast as a one-legged hurdler!) so I might be out of my depth here!
My two favourite guitarists are prob Brian May (I'm just a general Queen fan) and Mark Knopfler.
I watched a programme on May once and he said that he and his father built his guitar when he was young, and when he got famous companies like Fender (I think) tried to make him some replica's for going on tour, but they were unable to copy 'Red' to his satisfaction. He also said that whenever he needed to compose a solo, he couldn't do it with his guitar in his hands, he had to put it on paper first.
My reasons for Knopfler are the way he changes the 'emotion' of the guitar, especially on the 'Brothers In Arms' LP.
I thought I'd link this cos I like the guy: