lead guitarist  

Well Satriani was Vai's Teacher u know !! But then talentwise or playingwise its REALLY hard to judge between them 2.But experience wise satriani has had more of it than vai!!

well, this is really hard bcoz wat is "better" to one person mite not be "better" to another. depends on your musical tastes and preferences.
i feel musically satriani is ahead, and vai is ahead in technique and flamboyance. both are great guitarists, and have created fantastic pieces of work. better to enjoy both and not think about who is better.

Well it really doesn't matter which one is better because if you've ever seen the movie Crossroads, you'd know Ralph Macchio would own them both haha. All kidding aside, Vai has some really sick chops and I read that he used to practice 16 hours a day! On the other hand, Satriani has a good leg up being Vai's teacher. Plus he appears to have small hands/smaller hands then Vai but he can keep up which is an inspiration to me because when I first started playing, I was told I wouldn't be that good because I have small hands. All in all, I respect both of them greatly and I don't think you can choose one over the other.

Malmsteen and Joe Satriani.

Malmsteen and Joe Satriani.

JIMI HENDRIX and KIRK HAMMET

Both, they've their ownstyle

Joe Satriani + Steve Vai = its G2 only, need one more for G3, just kiddin ;)

oh well its really hard for me to choose. i started listening to Joe Satriani before Steve Vai. i would say they are both technically great in playing guitars. Joe advantage is he is longer in the music industry and has more albums sold. Steve Vai has orthodox style or whatever weird you can call it, playful and flamboyant.

but lol Karate Kid from Crossroad will pawn them both.