Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen has been named the greatest guitarist of all time in a new poll sponsored by Guitar World magazine. Almost half a million votes were cast in the survey, which was the first ever commissioned by Guitar World on this subject. The tournament-style poll began in April with a total of 132 guitarists that were gradually winnowed down to the final match-up between Van Halen and Queen axeman Brian May, with Van Halen beating out May with 62 percent of the vote.