Which artist inspired you to transition from music fan into a musician?
Fun story: A good buddy of mine (nasty guitar player) was a huge Metallica fan in middle shcool. He bought a guitar and committed to learning Master of Puppets as his first song. I don't know what psychopath picks this song as his maiden voyage, but sure enough, he took it piece by piece and is now one of the better shredders I know.
Speaking for myself, I'm a blues guy. Elmore James, Leadbelly, Howlin' Wolf all the way back to the early Delta stuff. While it's a great style to translate into other genres, blues guitar on its own will always be a style that makes me want to get my ass up and play.
I have a list of artist works that I admire. The two that I have revisited most recently are Annea Lockwood's A Soundmap of the Housatonic River and Francisco López' Buildings New York. When I listen to popular music I trend toward early jazz.