Great thread all in all.

What I thought while reading was that no matter what, music can be really great when its expression at its purest form. Meaning that the thoughts, ideas, and feelings that are possessed by the musician are harnessed and played so that they can at least be interpreted strongly by the listener. So if you are a whizz at shredding, and thats whats you're in heart, I think you should do that. If you really have a lot to say and have a beautiful way of saying it in your lyrics, you should do that. And when all the pieces are just right, than maybe the person listening will identify with it and you'll get something close to what was the intended reaction. There's no rules to this shit, at all. Music is whatever the fuck you want it to be. So I can think that my 12 year old sister banging away on the xylophone is better music than Dream Theatre's over the top cheesiness, than thats just me.

I know I'm painting broad strokes, and not saying a whole lot that isn't obvious, but thats my 2 cents.