Gilmour is the best musician in post-Syd Floyd
Probably. His guitar playing touches places inside my brain that no other guitarist (and I've listened to all the greats and more) don't come close to. At its best, it's simultaneously angry, melancholic, knowing, desperate, dreamy. His second solo on Shine On conveys so, so much, like it's Barrett himself begging for help and salvation.
It's what Waters' solo stuff lacks, making Waters' solo work fall short.
But then, I find Floyd without Waters to be equally lacking. It has no real soul to it. The lyrics seem contrived, the music missing an edginess. I can appreciate it but not love it. Nothing post-Waters stirs me. If Floyd were only ever Momentary Lapse onwards, I'd almost certainly not give them a second thought.
People talk about Lennon & McCartney needing each other to make perfection, and it's even more pronounced with Waters & Gilmour.
The inherent anger and bitterness that Waters has coursing through him drove Floyd. And he's a genuinely brilliant wordsmith.