Well, I'm back, and what do I find? Another argument over brussels
sprouts.  "They taste GOOD!" "No they don't!" I realize that's what these
lists are for, but, my goodness, it seems to come with all sorts of claims:
clairvoyance as to what the composer was thinking at the time or as to the
motives for writing and the ability to read the future.

I agree totally with Chris Webber when he says that he listens for the
"here-and-now." Why do I really care about posterity -- the good opinion
of people I will never even meet? I should listen because I enjoy (at some
level) the music.  Phil Glass's music floats a lot of boats.  He's one
of the few composers who actually makes a living at it, and he's done so
largely without the help of traditional performance organizations or grant
agencies.  This alone is a tremendous achievement and, in our time, very
rare indeed.  The people who enjoy his music (I've never been one of them)
aren't necessarily musical idiots.

That said, I prefer Adams's "minimalist" works, Riley's, and Reich's to
Glass's.

BMG is currently having a sale of, like, $2.99 a CD and there are some
interesting things to take a chance on, including a Reich disc with the
Kronos and Gubaidulina's (NOT a minimalist) St.  John Passion.

Steve Schwartz