This is a very nice list @steevc , actually I went to all of these guys in a backwards manner , In a sense of who did my heroes get their inspiration from ? You'll most likely end up with Hendrix , page , Clapton . At first I didn't get Hendrix that much , that wild aggressive playing I got it as noise. But after I got into his songs I discovered him as an amazing songwriter and then everything else made sense. I started digging into all these players. Brian May would definitely be in my top 10 , learning any one of his solos will teach you good phrasing and taste but since I cut it to 5 he was left out! Hahahaha thanks for the mention and sharing! Cheers.
These are some of the founders of rock as we know it. It's interesting to hear them talk about their influences. That is generally the old blues players, but you'll hear others mentions like Chuck Berry and Lonnie Donegan.