When it comes to mandolin.. Eric's a hacker...really.    Now you do have a point with Mike Marshall though, that guy is a fire-breathing dragon of a musician.   He is a much more well-rounded player than Chris Thile, really one of the giants in modern acoustic music.  And..he is probably one of the best guitarists in the world also.    But technically, Chris is perfect, just maybe not the most inventive lines..

My fav to listen to is still Sam Bush.   And  sometimes, John Reischman  wipes the floor with all of them.   But...Grisman is still God, and then there's Andy Statman....but Eric fuckin' Brazilian...you gotta be kiddin' me???  

Gene

P.S. If you haven't heard Reischman's work on Tony Rice Backwaters recording (maybe you already have), you really need to...everybody does! It's one of the great acoustic recordings of all time. 

P.S.S. David Grisman = Dawg=Gawd (oh yeah...!!)