Arjen Anthony Lucassen - he's shaped quite a lot of my musical trajectory both directly and indirectly through the ever-expanding interconnected web of people he's had on his albums.
Dan Swano - he's probably one of the only guys on the planet who can write, perform all instruments and vocals for, record, engineer, mix, and master superb quality releases in progressive rock, Swedish death metal, and gothic rock, which lines up quite well with my aesthetic tastes. And he's worked with so many metal legends, I'm sure he has so many stories.
Herbie Hancock - has played with practically all of the jazz icons of the past three quarters of a century, and has always seemed like a cool guy when I've seen him live.