I'm guessing we're sticking to things more within the neo-classical shred genre? In that case...
-George Bellas-actually, pretty unique within the genre, amazing chops, a few cool musical ideas every now and then, but I do have a hard time sitting through his music. The "extreme measures" album with Vitalij slays though.
-Greg Howe-as much as the neoclassical stuff isn't what I love him for, Ascend and High definition (both with Kuprij) are pretty kickin'
-Tony Macalpine- Maximum Security was a pretty cool album, can't say I dig any of his other "shred" albums
-Marty Friedman- Dragon's Kiss is a cool album, but it's stuff like Scenes and his playing on Rust in Piece that won me over. His solo on Tornado of Souls is what made me want to take guitar seriously
-Vinnie Moore- Defying Gravity, which I actually like a lot more than his earlier stuff. He's the only guy in the genre I can still listen to consistently. Great player...really looking forward to the new album. His new Dean signature model is pretty cool looking too.
-Stephan Forte- I was blown away when I first heard him after Sanctus Ignus came out. It's hard to have a unique sound in this genre but he certainly pulls it off, and very well. His chops are out of this world.
-Michael Romeo- I think his cd was as good as an instrumental shred cd could be at that time. There are some serious chops on display there.
-Chris Gordon- my teacher back when I lived in DE....he's more over-the-top than any of these guys. He can play any style (and does...he gigs regular with various jazz, fusion, country, metal, southern rock, prog metal, and classic rock groups...plays a bit of classical guitar too), but he loves his neo-classical shit and just blows people away on it.
A lot of other guys who should be on my list that "shred", but I can't say I spend a lot of time in this genre anymore.
schenkadere- While this wont make me any friends on the forum, I admit I enjoy both Alter Bridge albums quite a bit. I'm not really sold on his lead playing, but they are a really good modern rock band with solid tunes and a great singer. But yeah, I don't really see much backing the hype about his abilities as a guitarist.