You see now I'm confused. Does popularity mean something or nothing when speaking of great music? Have we made up our minds yet?
Don't know if we'll ever solve this. Most of us would consider popularity one of the least important indicators (Bay city rollers anyone? ) but the bugger is it's the only one which is measurable. There's critical acclaim, but I stopped reading Melody maker in 1987 when they gave The Mission band and single of the year (and I liked them, but they weren't that good.) and does that mean music's only great if it's liked by earnest students or beard-stroking muso's (of which I think I'm neither.) But popularity has to count for something.
And opinions change. People now talk about Wings like they were a real band, but you would have been tarred and feathered for admitting to liking them in the 70's, while thinking John's music was cool and edgy almost a social neccesity.
We need an equation, like the one for poetry that Robin Williams mocks in Dead Poets Society. But then we might us well all home.
To sum up: f*cked if I know.