These recitors (may Allah be pleased with them) will not be able to save us from the hell fire.
Yes, looking up to them is good and loving them is recommended as they are ahlul Quran. Just be sure to draw the line clearly so as to not REVERE them more than the prophet.
what we should do is to emulate their enthusiasm and learn like they did. beautify Al quran with tajweed and our voices, and you will soon find out that Al Quran is not only reserved for the shuyookh or the ulamaa'.
and proclaiming one reciter is THE BEST is truly doing injustice towards the other brothers who are capable. Only ALLAH knows who's the best. I've been to many masajid where the imam reads as well or better than the whole list of reciters that we voted from.
and those recordings, if you don't mind my saying this, are so plagued with unnecessary echo that sometimes one may not distinguish a letter from the other.
Aishah (r.a) once related that the prophet read as such that one could hear EVERY letter that he read.
Putting too much echo in Quranic recitation is doing injustice towards Al Quran whose beauty comes from TAJWEED first and then the voice that Allah has given. Al Quran is not about the voice, is about preserving the rules as consistently as possible.
But, if the recitation of these shuyookh has made you love Al Quran and motivated you to memorize, may Allah reward them for using their gift. Indeed, their effort will be sadaqah jaariah and will benefit them.
May Allah make us among them. Ameen.
