In fact, TIME's 100 People of the Century, in the "Artists and Entertainers" category, included the following musicians and "musicians": Igor Stravinsky Louis Armstrong Rodgers and Hammerstein Frank Sinatra The Beatles Bob Dylan Aretha Franklin That breaks down to one classical composer, one jazz innovator, two representatives of the popular styles of the pre-rock era and three representatives of the rock era. To be fair, TIME also gave "honorable mention" to "runners-up" in all fields, and I know Miles Davis at least made that "cut". The whole exercise is rather questionable, though, especially since Bart Simpson is one of the "people of the century". As far as John Lennon's place, I've been thinking that in fact it is Paul McCartney who is one of the great talents of the era. His work still speaks volumes even thirty years later, in musical construction, songwriting elegance, and compassionate wisdom. Before you jump all over me as a hopeless boomer, let me observe that I can think of virtually no other rock musician who has achieved that; McCartney's work, more than Lennon's, Townshend's, or Hendrix's, has transcended the rock style to an extent that none of the others named can hope to. (Which is not to say that his efforts at writing straight classical are worth anything, or that his post-Beatles solo efforts represent anything near the peak of his potential. But his best work possesses a maturity and fully integrated awareness of earlier styles that is missing from most rock artists.) Personally, I see Shostakovich as the classical composer of the century, and John Coltrane as the jazz artist of the century, but that's just me. - seb