This is a great example, the music of Hendrix does absolutely nothing for me, leaves me completely cold, I don’t ‘get it’ at all, however I recognise his cultural significance and, simply by the effect he has on a huge swathe of musicians and non-musicians I realise he must be something extraordinarily special.
I agree about Bowie, I love some of his material and am indifferent about lots of it. I’d take the first side of Low over 95% of any other music. Bowie’s undoubted genius was understanding twists and turns in culture and music and interpreting them, regurgitating them, in his brilliant style. It’s like he was a musical organiser, he gathered musicians, fashions, styles, culture under his flag and made some great art. Certainly a genius in my book.