But the truth is inescapable. Musical opinions are subjective, but the fact that Eddie Van Halen was the finest electric guitarist of his generation is a reality as irrefutable as gravity.

Eddie Van Halen had so much talent he couldn't keep it to himself, so he shared it with fellow musicians on these three songs.

Eddie Van Halen, who has died at the age of 65, opened up dozens of new possibilities for the electric guitar with his wildly inventive, and largely self-taught, techniques. Combining lightning ...