We started out talking Heavy Metal, now we're all over the place.
Sabbath edges out Metallica. I don't consider Led Zep heavy metal.
best guitarists. Too many to name or remember. Some of my favs(that I remember at the moment):
Clapton, Van Halen, Knopfler, Page, Harrison(very underrated), Hendrix, SR Vaughn, The Edge, Santana - I'm forgetting bunches I know. Johnson, Satriani and those technical wizard players are great players but they don't seem to have any feeling or soul to their music. My opinion only, not trying to flame em.
Someone mentioned The Cult. My favorite 80s band (cept for maybe U2)
All that said about great bands and players, I've been out seeing live music a lot lately, and I'll tell ya, there's a lot of great talent out there. Do yourself a favor and go support local live music where you live. You won't be sorry.