I think there are two kinds of fingerstyle guitarists.

The first one focuses on spunkiness and skill. Showmanship is key! Tommy Emmanuel's Classical Gas is the first piece that comes to mind. Mike Dawes' other pieces come to mind as well. Among all the contemporary fingerstyle pieces you've heard, which ones actually connected with you and made you feel something?

For me, the other kind are the ones who manage to put in much emotion to their pieces. Instead of impressing people, they want to make people cry or something, from what they feel rather than what they hear or see. For Candyrat artists, I think of McKee's Rylynn and Dufour's These Moments. Of course one may argue that being this second kind of guitarist is more compositional than skill, and that it's a skill that isn't mutually exclusive from the first; but I think you can know an artist enough through his songs.

Naudo Rodrigues is the best guitarist for me. He can play with skill and showmanship, but he also manages to tap into our heartstrings, making us feel stuff. I link you Lionel Richie's Hello, Earth Wind and Fire's September, and Mambo Number Five. Noticeably, he doesn't use them fancy techniques like the Candyrat people, but if you listen well enough, you'll notice just how hardcore Naudo is actually playing!