Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Page, he is probably the best song writer of that classic rock era (for the record, I’m not a beatles fan lol). The compositions are just so epic from a guitar point of view. Love how much he experimented with alternate tunings. It’s pretty incredible to see how he progressed from a heavy blues player (zeppelin 1 & 2) to creating such epic songs (Achilles last stand is a favorite). Also, love his acoustic work.
One of my favorite metrics on a player is how much they can augment their songs and solos in live performance. Hendrix sets the bar (he wrote voodoo child slight return live on the spot), but page is right there. But I think that comes from having a solid foundation in the blues. Even Metallica will change songs around, though they are definitely more musically structured.
My general rule towards more technical stuff is I like it up to point, but most of the Steve Vai/Joe Satriani/Eric Johnson stuff doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m just not musical enough to appreciate it. I love Jazz because it seems more like controlled chaos, but those technical metal bands don’t really do it for me. Same with Dream Theater.
I’m not really the strong creative type (ie I don’t write my own songs), so for me, the best way to get back into guitar is to learn songs from a new player. I grabbed a songbook from Rush, so maybe I’ll learn some of his stuff (though they are a little 80’s for me, so we’ll see lol).