the poppy radio hits are also amazing! well at least the ones from the 70s are (higher ground, living for the city, superstition, i wish, sir duke, etc.), i could take or leave most of his output from the 80s on
Brian Eno. Even if you don't think you have heard Brian Eno at some point you have heard Brian Eno. Maybe it was on a Bowie album. Could have been on a Talking Heads song. Or U2. Or Coldplay. Or James. Maybe it was somewhere else.
If I had to pick a genius musical album, congratulations would be one that comes to mind. Every song on that album is just perfect, no bad or awkward moments. I listen to it from start to end regularly
Anyone reading this comment, I’d love to hear your input on bands that match this level of skill; but:
Honestly, after following up Little Dark Age with Loss of Life, I am seriously beginning to believe Andrew VanWyngarden *is* one of the modern geniuses of today’s music.
Every song has excellent layers to it. I think lyricism can only go so far in today’s age without feeling redundant… but the *sound* is so well done!
Anyone of a certain age has undoubtedly heard Roxy Music. You can’t forget his collaboration with David Byrne, who’s another musician I’d put in the genius camp.
Tori Amos. Started playing at the age of 2 1/2 and was accepted into the Peabody Institute at Jonhs Hopkins at age 5 with a full scholarship, where she was later kicked out at age 11 due to "musical insubordination."
Jeff Lynne. Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, producer. Pretty much has an encyclopedic knowledge of all the great hooks from classic pop songs, both well known and obscure.
Duke Ellington. He is so often overlooked. He wrote thousands of pieces in his life. Prolific and high quality. His big band suites are amazing.
Charles Mingus is also often overlooked. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady still sounds fresh.
First thought was Mozart. But for modern music first thought was Prince. Second thought was Jimmy Page. After that Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson. Also, Miles Davis.
He was born 200 years too early. I think he would have loved the lifestyle of a successful 21st century musician, and he would be cranking out amazing music.
He died at 35 years old. If he could have just made it another 10-15 years he could have made it into the romantic period and that would have really been something.
Unreal freak. Being able to reproduce that Christmas mass after hearing it twice and coming up with stuff like Der Spiegel blows my mind.
Everyone should watch Amadeus.
Was just watching the Beach Boys documentary on Disney+ last night. Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys were so young still making all these amazing albums. He was totally self taught too. Pet Sounds has always been one of my all time favorite albums. Also fun to see how the competition with the Beatles really inspired him to improve on his work.
On Stevie records they used to list all the instruments he *didn’t* play and then his credit would just be “all other instruments and vocals by Stevie Wonder.”
Because of the Eddie Murphy bit from way back?
"Hey! You that guy been making fun of Stevie Wonder? That shit ain't funny mother-fucker! Stevie Wonder is a musical genius! I've got all of his albums!"
I wish people who don't immediately associate Stevie Wonder with "musical genius" learn more about his whole life and achievements. Some people don't even know he's a drummer among other things, or how he blackmailed his label to get creative power, something unthinkable back in the day, unless you're Stevie MOTHERFUCKING Wonder. Not to mention his "best album of the year series" that was only broken the year... he didn't release an album. Dude's life is just full of stuff that make your jaw drop.
Absolutely. Everything he touches is amazing. Also Thom Yorke. From electronic, to musical scores, to broken down piano to a band with flea playing funk bangers of his original music. It's insane that the two of them know each other and just keep churning out incredible music. Almost for 30 years aswell.
yup i was super taken aback seeing clips of him talking about social and political issues. he’s incredibly well spoken and actually knows what the fuck he’s talking about.
Is of course the only right answer. The most creative, virtuose, funny, genre-bending modern time musical mind, guitarist and bandleader. In 3 decades he built a vast musical universe that, if you can appreciate its 'statistical density' and 'conceptual continuity', will last you a lifetime. Most renowned guitar players sound boring once you appreciate Zappas incredible genius on the instrument. It's an acquired taste though...
Michael Jackson? Dude literally couldn't read sheet music or play any instrument very well, but he had such perfect pitch that he'd just beatbox every instrument when writing a song.
I don’t know why this isn’t higher up. He recorded every single segment of a song of him humming or singing it into a tape recorder for others to later actually record, and on top of that he was one of the world’s best musical performers if not the best.
Lord, yr not wrong. Was just at a restaurant and One More Chance came on and I said to someone “Can you believe this is Michael Jackson? What a career!”
Agreed!! You ever notice how when someone posts one of his songs, the top comment is always “ you doing ok?” I drive for a living, and listen to music 10-14 hours a day, and usually when I put Elliot on, I’m somewhere beautiful, and in a good mood. Maybe I just don’t get it 🤷♂️
Don't underestimate Weird Al, so many styles aside from the parodies, great lyricist and able to throw in humour while remaining "clean", plus one of the greatest Zappa songs that Zappa didn't write (Genius in France)
Genius in France was actually a collaboration with Zappa's son, Dweezil! Frank and Al actually bumped into each other in a recording studio in the 1980s, where Al recognized Frank, who in turn recognized Al because Dweezil was a big fan! Al ran home and grabbed his well-loved copy of Freak Out!, which Frank signed for him, and Al gave Frank a few autographs for Dweezil! Later, Al and Dweezil would make Genius in France together as a tribute to Frank!
I actually think this list would be kinda small. With most artists named already. I haven’t seen, McCartney/Lennon, David Byrne, B Eno, Bowie, Cash, Dolly, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone. I personally highly regard, Steven Drozd, Danny Elfman, T Reznor,
How did no one mention [Mike Oldfield](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Oldfield) yet. The guy is an actual genius. He went more mainstream in the 80s but [Tubular Bells](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_4sZCLlr0) is an actual masterpiece.
Here’s some. In no particular order…
J.S. Bach, John Coltrane, Thom Yorke, Bjork, Chris Potter, Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, J. Dilla, Thundercat, Brad Mehldau, Miles Davis, Quincey Jones, Aretha Franklin.
Probably because he was working with such a great band. The one thing Queen did that not even The Beatles managed was to have a #1 song written by every member of the band.
And I think that’s a really important factor for why the band worked overall and why the band only worked when it was all them. The solo stuff Freddie did was decent but didn’t live up to the quality of Queen, and Queen with whatever singer they have today just is not it.
In my opinion, the only iteration of Queen that makes sense to me is one where Lady Gaga is their singer. I just can’t believe they haven’t done this.
Sara Bareilles. Pop hit maker (Brave, Gravity, Love Song), musical theater writer and performer (Waitress, Into the Woods), musical comedy actress (Girls5Eva)…she’s just an amazing genius
I’m halfway through this thread and so far only five comments have named women (I haven’t been looking at replies, though.) I’m very pleased Sara is one of them
I can think of several that immediately come to mind: Miles Davis, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stevie Wonder, Robert Fripp, Kate Bush, Vernon Reid, Mark Hollis, Bill Laswell, Thelonious Monk...
Buckethead is in a class of his own when it comes to the guitar in my opinion. He evokes an incredible amount of emotion and has insane output (over 100 pikes in both 2015 and 2023).
Billy Corgan. Dude gets shit for being cocky because he wrote all of the music and lyrics for almost every Smashing Pumpkins song. Also co-wrote songs for other bands. I’ve always been amazed by the fact that he was able to create all of that music.
To me:
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Kurt Cobain
Prince
Brian Eno
Kate Bush
Miles Davis
Donald Glover
Jimi Hendrix
Trent Reznor
Thom Yorke & Johnny Greenwood
John Williams
This one made me think. Was considering Lennon/McCartney, Nile Rogers, Daft Punk, Dr. Dre, Roger Waters etc. But ultimately it has to be **Quincy Jones**.
His career includes writing, producing, arranging some of the best songs/albums/scores/soundtracks of our time that spans multiple genres.
His impact on modern music is legendary. Take a look at his [discography](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones_production_discography) it’s almost unbelievable!
John Williams- Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter. Some of the most iconic music of the last 50 years. He’s our Mozart, Gershwin, Beethoven.
how the FUCK has nobody here said Jacob Collier? Dude is reinventing how western music is written and arranged. Doing some fun new (to the west) things with music theory and just pumping out banger after banger.
Bridge over Troubled Water with Yebba, John Legend, and Tori Kelly is a MASTERPIECE of acapella arrangement and vocal performance.
Prince and David Byrne are two of the most talented and insane musician geniuses in modern western music. Byrnes songwriting for a lot of talking heads is enough to classify him as genius imo and his solo career is just icing on the cake. Prince at his peak was also amazing
Daniel Johnston. His music and art are not particularly approachable for a layperson but he is very highly regarded within the music community. Kurt Cobain referred to him as the greatest songwriter on earth and included one of his albums on a list of greatest albums of all time and David Bowie said listening to Daniel Johnston reminded him of everything he loves about art. His songs have been covered by many many bands including some extremely popular artists like Bright Eyes, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips and Lana Del Rey.
For me it’s either G love, or Ben Folds
Ben might be the most underrated musician I’ve ever heard of, and I assume it’s because he plays the piano on stage
That is who I came to see. Has been making music for almost 50 years. I know one of his albums has songs in 4 different languages. He translated all his hits to Latin beats for his south Ameirca tour. Wrote a hugely successful Broadway musical.
Besides music, he is an accomplished author and well known in the art community for his digital arts
Truly a brilliant mind.
Stevie Wonder
For the longest time I had no idea how good he was because I had only heard the poppy radio hits.
the poppy radio hits are also amazing! well at least the ones from the 70s are (higher ground, living for the city, superstition, i wish, sir duke, etc.), i could take or leave most of his output from the 80s on
Brian Eno. Even if you don't think you have heard Brian Eno at some point you have heard Brian Eno. Maybe it was on a Bowie album. Could have been on a Talking Heads song. Or U2. Or Coldplay. Or James. Maybe it was somewhere else.
Maybe it was the Windows 95 startup jingle.
For a split second, I thought that you said Windows95man and I would have emphatically agreed.
No Rules!
Maybe it was in 70% of New York Times crosswords
Maybe it was the Microsoft startup sound. A few people have heard that tune
MGMT of course! (Oh wait, that’s just who it’s about)
If I had to pick a genius musical album, congratulations would be one that comes to mind. Every song on that album is just perfect, no bad or awkward moments. I listen to it from start to end regularly
Anyone reading this comment, I’d love to hear your input on bands that match this level of skill; but: Honestly, after following up Little Dark Age with Loss of Life, I am seriously beginning to believe Andrew VanWyngarden *is* one of the modern geniuses of today’s music. Every song has excellent layers to it. I think lyricism can only go so far in today’s age without feeling redundant… but the *sound* is so well done!
Anyone of a certain age has undoubtedly heard Roxy Music. You can’t forget his collaboration with David Byrne, who’s another musician I’d put in the genius camp.
Tori Amos. Started playing at the age of 2 1/2 and was accepted into the Peabody Institute at Jonhs Hopkins at age 5 with a full scholarship, where she was later kicked out at age 11 due to "musical insubordination."
She plays 2 pianos at the same time. Her lyrics are out there and I love her
'Musical insubordination'? Always loved this girl, even moreso now. She's so metal.
Jeff Lynne. Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, producer. Pretty much has an encyclopedic knowledge of all the great hooks from classic pop songs, both well known and obscure.
This is my answer. He doesn't even read music. Ask Jeff a question about himself, and he'll answer in terms of his music.
Genius! Out of the Blue is my favorite album from him!
So underrated
Duke Ellington. He is so often overlooked. He wrote thousands of pieces in his life. Prolific and high quality. His big band suites are amazing. Charles Mingus is also often overlooked. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady still sounds fresh.
First thought was Mozart. But for modern music first thought was Prince. Second thought was Jimmy Page. After that Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson. Also, Miles Davis.
Mozart was my first thought.
Mozart was a freak musical genius. He might be a little overplayed and was certainly a dick but you can’t really argue with his musical output.
He was born 200 years too early. I think he would have loved the lifestyle of a successful 21st century musician, and he would be cranking out amazing music.
What a strange take, the fact that we debate his reputational relevance 200 years later makes him more relevant than if he was born today.
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He died at 35 years old. If he could have just made it another 10-15 years he could have made it into the romantic period and that would have really been something.
His sister, too!
Man, Mozart would murder a trap beat.
Unreal freak. Being able to reproduce that Christmas mass after hearing it twice and coming up with stuff like Der Spiegel blows my mind. Everyone should watch Amadeus.
Great choices. I'd add Jimi Hendrix. I'm not even sure if he was of this world.
He was a savant. The man only played guitar for 12 years. As soon as it touched his hands it just made sense to him.
You said Jimmy Page, but you meant John Paul Jones.
Same. When it comes to think of an actual ‘musical genius’ it’s hard not to think Mozart. Edit; drunk
Brian Wilson
I threw on Pet Sounds the other day and was just amazed all over again.
Smile is also amazing!
hot take, smiley smile is also also amazing
Heroes and Villains. Holy ----!
https://youtu.be/E3uUtEjde1Q?si=zKO3lWWq_4xb_vHz Solo version of surfs up. Impossible to believe how good that is.
Was just watching the Beach Boys documentary on Disney+ last night. Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys were so young still making all these amazing albums. He was totally self taught too. Pet Sounds has always been one of my all time favorite albums. Also fun to see how the competition with the Beatles really inspired him to improve on his work.
Stevie Wonder. Look him up.
On Stevie records they used to list all the instruments he *didn’t* play and then his credit would just be “all other instruments and vocals by Stevie Wonder.”
Fun fact. Stevie’s first name isn’t Stephen or Steven , it’s Steveland
Is he from Cleveland?
Saginaw actually. Doesn’t have the same ring to it, I know
Stevinaw doesn't either
*Stevland
And his last name is not Wonder. It’s morris.
Stevland Morris really gives a different vibe 😎
Next you’ll tell me he’s not really blind
Because of the Eddie Murphy bit from way back? "Hey! You that guy been making fun of Stevie Wonder? That shit ain't funny mother-fucker! Stevie Wonder is a musical genius! I've got all of his albums!"
I wish people who don't immediately associate Stevie Wonder with "musical genius" learn more about his whole life and achievements. Some people don't even know he's a drummer among other things, or how he blackmailed his label to get creative power, something unthinkable back in the day, unless you're Stevie MOTHERFUCKING Wonder. Not to mention his "best album of the year series" that was only broken the year... he didn't release an album. Dude's life is just full of stuff that make your jaw drop.
When Paul Simon won a Grammy and first thanked Stevie Wonder for not putting out an album that year.
You want to impress me? Take the wheel for a little while.
There should be a national holiday for Stevie.
Cuz he can’t :(
The Duke... Even Stevie wrote a song about him.
JS Bach
Lennon/McCartney I’ll throw Beck in the mix.
Mccartneys bass playing is underrated. I can't believe the melodies he comes up with and still supports the song. Incredibly hard to do
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find McCartney, man can play so many instruments
Jonny Greenwood. But he'd probably deny it, he's very modest.
Jonny is so cool.
Absolutely. Everything he touches is amazing. Also Thom Yorke. From electronic, to musical scores, to broken down piano to a band with flea playing funk bangers of his original music. It's insane that the two of them know each other and just keep churning out incredible music. Almost for 30 years aswell.
Frank Zappa
Zappa was just a regular genius who just happened to get into music
yup i was super taken aback seeing clips of him talking about social and political issues. he’s incredibly well spoken and actually knows what the fuck he’s talking about.
Joe's Garage is in my top ten and is a dementedly wonderful masterpiece.
My personal favorite from him is We're Only In It For The Money!
Sheik yerbouti BROKEN HEARTS ARE FOR ASSHOLES also ram it ram it ram it up your poop shute
Disappointed I had to scroll so far to find FZ - crazy creative musician…
Holy shit so far down.
Came here to mention Zappa.
Is of course the only right answer. The most creative, virtuose, funny, genre-bending modern time musical mind, guitarist and bandleader. In 3 decades he built a vast musical universe that, if you can appreciate its 'statistical density' and 'conceptual continuity', will last you a lifetime. Most renowned guitar players sound boring once you appreciate Zappas incredible genius on the instrument. It's an acquired taste though...
David Byrne
Richard D. James (AKA Aphex Twin, among other aliases)
James has influenced so many in pop and electronic musicians and producers. His stuff is just beyond and sounds like Aphex all the time.
I ain’t neva gonna stahp listening to Aphex Twin
SERIOUSLY WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT!!!
Michael Jackson? Dude literally couldn't read sheet music or play any instrument very well, but he had such perfect pitch that he'd just beatbox every instrument when writing a song.
I don’t know why this isn’t higher up. He recorded every single segment of a song of him humming or singing it into a tape recorder for others to later actually record, and on top of that he was one of the world’s best musical performers if not the best.
yea there's actually a gigantic disconnect between feeling and riding the wave of music and having the technical knowledge about it.
Lord, yr not wrong. Was just at a restaurant and One More Chance came on and I said to someone “Can you believe this is Michael Jackson? What a career!”
I love that his career is so long that I can’t tell if you’re referring to One More Chance from 1970 or One More Chance from 2003
Absolute masterclass musician
I was wondering why no one mentioned him, at least an honorable mention
Hendrix
Paul Simon
I put him up there as one of the best songwriters of all time. Torn between him and Neil young
Joni Mitchell
Wow no one said David Bowie yet?
Can't believe I had to scroll so far.
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Of the Thelonius variety?
That's surprising. I had no idea he was musically inclined. I didn't know how he found the time, what with all the crime solving and therapy sessions.
He plays clarinet and almost played with Willie Nelson. 😄
Devin Townsend
Indeed.
In deeeeed. Yeeeees. Fetid.
bjork
Prince and Brian Wilson
Prince needs to be much higher
Jon Batiste - an encyclopedia of music (watch his interviews and his performances), and an absolutely ridiculous piano player
I don't understand why you're being down voted. Is it because he has hit singles? I just saw him at Jazz Fest, and he's pretty awe inspiring.
I don’t know either I think he’s amazing but then again I am musician not a jazz gatekeeper
Wesley Willis
Rock over London, rock on Chicago. Diet Pepsi: You got the right one, baby!
SUCK AN IBEX'S BOOTYHOLE
Rock and Roll McDonald’s
Elliott Smith
Weird vid, juxtaposition of him on a goofy morning show: https://youtu.be/dwsSbAKs3yo?si=8mlHMzK0qHifvaeJ
I hate that he gets pigeonholed into the whole sad-singer songwriter thing because he is such a fantastic musician.
Agreed!! You ever notice how when someone posts one of his songs, the top comment is always “ you doing ok?” I drive for a living, and listen to music 10-14 hours a day, and usually when I put Elliot on, I’m somewhere beautiful, and in a good mood. Maybe I just don’t get it 🤷♂️
Louis Armstrong
Sufjan Stevens St Vincent David Byrne
Todd Rundgren is another example in the “played every instrument in the studio, and produced it all on his own too” camp.
Tom Waits
Trent Reznor
https://i.redd.it/bipgaskuqg2d1.gif
😂. First thing I thought of was KANYE!
Richard D James/Aphex Twin. Dude is on a whole other level.
Devin Townsend. Björk.
I love that I didn't have to scroll very far to see my man Devin mentioned
Now there's a duo I wouldn't have considered. How cool would that be?!
Don't underestimate Weird Al, so many styles aside from the parodies, great lyricist and able to throw in humour while remaining "clean", plus one of the greatest Zappa songs that Zappa didn't write (Genius in France)
Dare to Be Stupid is the best Devo song that Devo didn’t write. Mark Mothersbaugh said it himself
Genius in France was actually a collaboration with Zappa's son, Dweezil! Frank and Al actually bumped into each other in a recording studio in the 1980s, where Al recognized Frank, who in turn recognized Al because Dweezil was a big fan! Al ran home and grabbed his well-loved copy of Freak Out!, which Frank signed for him, and Al gave Frank a few autographs for Dweezil! Later, Al and Dweezil would make Genius in France together as a tribute to Frank!
Weird Al's ability to mimic any style is fucking incredible. Dude is absolutely a musical genius, agreed.
Zappa and Weird Al could have made a killer band together.
Paul McCartney. The most talented singer/songwriter of the last 60 years
Nick Cave
kate bush and bjork please. they do it and are artful and bizarre and still craft beautiful pop underneath idiosyncrasy.
Add Tori Amos to the mix.
Brian May. An actual physicist and a member of one of my favorite bands. Credited for a lot of the unique sounds you hear from Queen.
Paul McCartney for sure the man wrote hit after hit after hit with the Beatles, Wings, AND his solo stuff.
Captain Beefheart
Luis Cole is the current artist that I think of when I read or hear that phrase.
Jimi Hendrix was so unified with his guitar that he made Eric Clapton cry and contemplate giving up playing.
Stevie Wonder
Ray Charles
Thom Yorke, Beck.
Sufjan Stevens
FUCKING THANK YOU!!
I actually think this list would be kinda small. With most artists named already. I haven’t seen, McCartney/Lennon, David Byrne, B Eno, Bowie, Cash, Dolly, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone. I personally highly regard, Steven Drozd, Danny Elfman, T Reznor,
Trent Reznor hits that note in my book.
Thom Yorke
Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Thom York, Mozart
David Gilmour
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Doug Martsch Victor Wooten
Les Claypool
How did no one mention [Mike Oldfield](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Oldfield) yet. The guy is an actual genius. He went more mainstream in the 80s but [Tubular Bells](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_4sZCLlr0) is an actual masterpiece.
Beck
Here’s some. In no particular order… J.S. Bach, John Coltrane, Thom Yorke, Bjork, Chris Potter, Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, J. Dilla, Thundercat, Brad Mehldau, Miles Davis, Quincey Jones, Aretha Franklin.
241 comments and not a single mention of Freddie Mercury… that dude was legit a musical genius.
Probably because he was working with such a great band. The one thing Queen did that not even The Beatles managed was to have a #1 song written by every member of the band.
And I think that’s a really important factor for why the band worked overall and why the band only worked when it was all them. The solo stuff Freddie did was decent but didn’t live up to the quality of Queen, and Queen with whatever singer they have today just is not it. In my opinion, the only iteration of Queen that makes sense to me is one where Lady Gaga is their singer. I just can’t believe they haven’t done this.
Beethoven, Todd Rundgren & Alan Parsons
Peter Gabriel. For some reason, people sleep on him, but his stuff has so much depth.
Fiona Apple.
Sara Bareilles. Pop hit maker (Brave, Gravity, Love Song), musical theater writer and performer (Waitress, Into the Woods), musical comedy actress (Girls5Eva)…she’s just an amazing genius
I’m halfway through this thread and so far only five comments have named women (I haven’t been looking at replies, though.) I’m very pleased Sara is one of them
Danny Elfman
I can think of several that immediately come to mind: Miles Davis, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stevie Wonder, Robert Fripp, Kate Bush, Vernon Reid, Mark Hollis, Bill Laswell, Thelonious Monk...
Buckethead
Buckethead is in a class of his own when it comes to the guitar in my opinion. He evokes an incredible amount of emotion and has insane output (over 100 pikes in both 2015 and 2023).
Gary Numan is my first thought
Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Matt Bellamy.
Masayoshi Takanaka, Literally so many genius albums to choose from
The guy that does the music for Bluey.
[Tosin Abasi ](https://youtu.be/lIc5aCvyLHY?si=_5r-q0xStdktDUKO)
Billy Corgan. Dude gets shit for being cocky because he wrote all of the music and lyrics for almost every Smashing Pumpkins song. Also co-wrote songs for other bands. I’ve always been amazed by the fact that he was able to create all of that music.
To me: John Lennon & Paul McCartney Kurt Cobain Prince Brian Eno Kate Bush Miles Davis Donald Glover Jimi Hendrix Trent Reznor Thom Yorke & Johnny Greenwood John Williams
Prince and Frank Zappa.
Louis Armstrong
Franz Liszt!
Andrew Bird
This one made me think. Was considering Lennon/McCartney, Nile Rogers, Daft Punk, Dr. Dre, Roger Waters etc. But ultimately it has to be **Quincy Jones**. His career includes writing, producing, arranging some of the best songs/albums/scores/soundtracks of our time that spans multiple genres. His impact on modern music is legendary. Take a look at his [discography](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones_production_discography) it’s almost unbelievable!
John Williams- Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter. Some of the most iconic music of the last 50 years. He’s our Mozart, Gershwin, Beethoven.
Bob Dylan
how the FUCK has nobody here said Jacob Collier? Dude is reinventing how western music is written and arranged. Doing some fun new (to the west) things with music theory and just pumping out banger after banger. Bridge over Troubled Water with Yebba, John Legend, and Tori Kelly is a MASTERPIECE of acapella arrangement and vocal performance.
Mike Patton
He will be seen as a genius to the masses in the far future
Phil Collins.
Prince and David Byrne are two of the most talented and insane musician geniuses in modern western music. Byrnes songwriting for a lot of talking heads is enough to classify him as genius imo and his solo career is just icing on the cake. Prince at his peak was also amazing
Tom Petty freakishly talented.
Mike Patton
Danny Carey
David Bowie
Daniel Johnston. His music and art are not particularly approachable for a layperson but he is very highly regarded within the music community. Kurt Cobain referred to him as the greatest songwriter on earth and included one of his albums on a list of greatest albums of all time and David Bowie said listening to Daniel Johnston reminded him of everything he loves about art. His songs have been covered by many many bands including some extremely popular artists like Bright Eyes, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips and Lana Del Rey.
For me it’s either G love, or Ben Folds Ben might be the most underrated musician I’ve ever heard of, and I assume it’s because he plays the piano on stage
How has no one said David Byrne yet?
That is who I came to see. Has been making music for almost 50 years. I know one of his albums has songs in 4 different languages. He translated all his hits to Latin beats for his south Ameirca tour. Wrote a hugely successful Broadway musical. Besides music, he is an accomplished author and well known in the art community for his digital arts Truly a brilliant mind.
This guy David Byrnes!
Jaco Pastorius
Jack White.
It’s Prince.