Tom Jenkinson, otherwise known as Squarepusher. He is the absolute most overlooked bass player, ever. His music is nothing short of genius, as he thinks it up and plays everything on his own, fitting all kinds of crazy bass solos into the cracks of his drum'n'bass madness. He has some amazing riffs, too.
If anything, my goal is to be as good as, if not better than, this man. I would seriously consider him better than Victor Wooten. His technique is flawless and he is the biggest innovator of the bass since the instrument's inception.
Jari Maenpaa, guitarist of Wintersun and ex-guitarist of Ensiferum. He's one of the most insane guitar players I've ever heard. He has VERY clean playing, his riffs are heavy, and he doesn't overplay like most good guitar players do. His vocals are among my favorite in metal, both his singing and screaming.
Even though I've already met him, I'd love to jam with Colin Marston, Warr guitarist of Behold... the Arctopus and Dysrhthmia. Possibly the most technical musician I've ever heard, Colin Marston's Warr playing makes it sound like Behold... the Arctopus has two guitar players. You have to have quite the brain capacity to handle 12 strings going in reverse directions from inside the neck, and Colin puts it into extreme prog metal in both a brutal and tasteful manner.
Ron Jarzombek, guitarist of Blotted Science and Spastic Ink. This guy is, hands down, the most insane guitarist alive. The music he writes is beyond crazy, and the solos he composes over it are the most mind blowing solos ever. Without a doubt the most overlooked guitarist ever.
Percy Jones. The other fretless bass wizard from the 80s, often overshadowed by Jaco Pastorius for whatever reason. Personally I think Percy's chops surpass Jaco's in terms of tastiness and fluidity. He is such a smooth player and he really knows his way around his instrument.
Ron Jarzombek. His guitar player is among the weirdest I have ever heard. His phrasing is so strange, but always sounds amazing. Forget Dream Theater, both of his bands have the craziest time signature and feel changes of anyone.
Sean Malone. Bassist for Cynic and Gordian Knot. Another fretless wizard, this guy puts it into progressive metal and makes it sound incredible. His chops are crazy good, and he even handles the Chapman stick nicely. Another bass player who gets no recognition for his amazing work.