10 Biggest Geniuses In Rock And Roll

There comes a time in a rock star's life where they start to disconnect from the rest of society. As far as the average rock fan is concerned, the lives of people like Jimmy Page are so far removed from reality that they may as well be on different planets. Rock stars might be a bit off the wall, but no one was really able to relate with his audience quite like Pete Townshend.

Once the '60s revolution gave way to more mind-expanding musical material, Townshend fashioned new music that had much more to do with the way rock could be constructed rather than an extension of drug intake. Across albums like Tommy and Quadrophenia, Townshend really painted sonic tapestries that his audience could relate to, whether it be in the way that the tune was constructed or hitting on a raw nerve that you didn't know was even there.

While you might not have any shared experiences with the characters of these stories, Townshend understood the common thread between feeling abandoned with nowhere to go, which made for some of the most transcendental musical moments that the rock world had ever felt. Whereas most artists might like to blow out your speakers from the word go, Pete Townshend managed to find a way to make amazing rock music while also taking the audience with him on his own musical journey.