Richard Thompson - check his career on allmusic.com, he's the British Celtic Folk-Rocker equivalent of an old blues guitar legend like B. B. King or Buddy Guy. He's really, really good on both acoustic and electric.
A few highlights:
Shoot Out The Lights - "Shoot Out The Lights"
Daring Adventures - "Missie How You Let Me Down", "How Will I Ever Be Simple Again"
Amnesia - "Turning of the Tide", "Waltzing's For Dreamers"
Rumour and Sigh - "I Feel So Good", "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
Sweet Talker - "Persuasion" (you might know Tim Finn's version, this is the original instrumental)
The Old Kit Bag - "I've Got No Right to Have It All", "Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen"