I'll admit, I once thought that he was just another gay ego-shredder - I saw a video of him when he was 16, and God, he could shred like hell - but it was unmusical cr@p! I found out later what a brilliant and well-rounded musician he was. He rocked at piano too.
It's sad that heroes like him die too young from unpreventable causes (Some respiratory disease, I think) whereas most deadshites live long, healthy lives.
RIP SL