Hey Sean, with Buckethead, i'd start w, Praxis Metatron (you can probably get it real cheap at half .com or Django's). For acoustic Buckethead, try Jonas Hellborg/Octave of the Holy Innocents.
There are alot of excellent recordings of guitarists whose work is unique (and not in any way in a competition w/ each other). Players like Allan Holdsworth, Uwe Kropinski, Fred Frith, David Fiuczynski, Terje Rypdal, Peter Wolbrandt, Sonny Sharrock, Michael Karoli, Nels Cline and David Torn to name a few have expanded the vocabulary of the instrument. Listening to these guys til the stuff gets stuck in yer' head really pays off. Anyone who hangs on to the notion that there is one best guitar player is cheating himself and prematurely dismissing alot of great music.
There are alot of excellent recordings of guitarists whose work is unique (and not in any way in a competition w/ each other). Players like Allan Holdsworth, Uwe Kropinski, Fred Frith, David Fiuczynski, Terje Rypdal, Peter Wolbrandt, Sonny Sharrock, Michael Karoli, Nels Cline and David Torn to name a few have expanded the vocabulary of the instrument. Listening to these guys til the stuff gets stuck in yer' head really pays off. Anyone who hangs on to the notion that there is one best guitar player is cheating himself and prematurely dismissing alot of great music.