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You can reach the very highest standard of rock/jazz/blues etc, guitar playing without ever learning to read a single note.( ie tabs and playing by ear as opposed to sheet music)
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What's your definition of very high standard?
After a little over half a year of reading tab I was able to play a lot of metal songs with very good accuracy. Some of the more difficult solos gave me trouble, but for the most part if I wanted to learn a song it was as simple as finding the tab online or in a book and spending a few days of hardcore practicing.
This doesn't mean I learned how to play metal though. I felt like a monkey -- just inputting tab notes a little bit at a time until I memorized it.
It wasn't until I ignored tabs and really buckled down into learning what you mentioned before I learned how to play. It was a complete transformation from "monkey memorizing notes" to "actually knowing what I was doing".
Suddenly I was able to sit down for extended amounts of time just playing whatever came into my head. Instead of it sounding like random crap, it sounded "right".
Prior to that when I tried to play whatever it took much much longer (mostly trial and error) before it resembled something that sounded good. It also had very little flow.
The only way I can describe is it, it's like trying to speak a foreign language without learning the alphabet/grammar/etc. If you spend some time, yes you'll be able to speak a few sentences and words, but if you know the language then you can skip all the grunt work and just let it flow.
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My point was that you dont need to be able to READ SHEET MUSIC. I clearly stated that I think it is essential to learn music theory,
and TBH , it is much better for an electric guitarist to learn to read tabs over actual notaion/sheet music, as the majorit of the great gutarists who came to fame in the "shred" era of the 1980s will tell you.
The transformation you described from "monkey memorizing notes" to "actually knowing what I was doing" sounds more like what happens to my students when they learn fudemental theory as opposed to learning notation.
..and to answer your question,my definiton of very good(to name just a few who would not adivse learning through site reading):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bUZK9dasP8s
http://youtube.com/watch?v=87Iz3RHZNDQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RJodwVQK3B4