Just with my limited experience I couldn't agree more.... As part of my search for my first guitar and amp I made several obligatory visits to the local GC on a Saturday... Bad idea... half a dozen youngins ripping off licks at break neck speeds ... and after a few played chords.. I interjected

..."What chord is that?" answer: "I don't know, but it goes like this"....

From what I see the majority of people that are playing... (not professionals or serious students) either want to play a song because its a "cool" song... or they want to look "cool" mimicking their guitar idol... Somebody told me that without an understanding of theory and a thorough understanding of the fretboard layout.. if one is just learning hand positions they are in effect becoming a "guitar monkey"... "Do this, then that and then this... repeat it twice and that's the song".....

Lather, rinse and repeat. Sort of like a "cut and paste" mentality...

I had a year subscription this year with Trufire (now Next Level Guitar) that both have a fairly good amount of lesson theory...I really enjoyed it... so much so that I spent more time reading that and figuring it out on the fretboard of my guitar... To be fair to the GC youngins ripping their licks... the expectation to the general public isn't "show me what theory you know" .... its more "Oh you are learning guitar, Great! Play me a song"....

That happened to me the other day... my brother comes over and says "play a song"... When I tell him that I'm learning theory and haven't learned or studied individual songs... He says... "You have been doing this for 9 months and can't play a song(?) .. I guess its not working out for you!"

An SOB yes... but my point is that to the huddled masses, the uninitiated .. the clueless... they look at and grade success or failure based on whether you can play "Stairway to Heaven" or "Sweet Home Alabama".... (depends on what side of the Mason Dixon line you were born I suppose)

There is a ton of free videos on theory... For a beginner.. these were great... sort of reminds me of my grade school teachers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXIEmMDwc7E&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqGKVjPnHlY&feature=related

But I agree... taking theory with a real theorist should / will be part of my plan......

As an aside... now that I have an amp with a great gain channel... I finally understand why alot of people play the heavier styles... an awesome gain channel covers up a lot of my bad technique...!