Steve Hackett, Steve Hillage. Possibly, even, Steve Howe. But, if so, maybe because his band (Yes) never quite reached the same status or fame as other 70's prog rock outfits. BTW, it's not a 'Steve' thing!
Must be a lot of good guitarists out there. But, if the band ain't big...pity.
Oh, absolutely. I have an uncle and two cousins that are better than half the guitarists you'll find in any '100 all-time best guitarists' list, and none of them ever recorded anything.
I used to be in a band where I was the only guitarist, and we had three different songs that required a solo. But I totally sucked at doing solos (still do), mostly because I hate solos and never really payed attention to them. After a while I managed to come up with one halfway decent solo that sounded more complicated than it was, so I used it in all three these songs (and once even in a cover song). Fortionately we never recorded two of those three songs, so I think not too many people ever noticed.