[Ghoulish Delight]

I have a view that artist, no matter thier medium, fall vaguely into 3 categories that I'd term "Genre", "Transcending", "Progressive".

"Genre" artists will by and large only be appreciated by fans of that genre. The people for whom, for whatever reason, that particular form of the medium speaks to them. The ones that succeed tend to be technically proficient at producing the art, but have little to do with the world outside their genre.

"Transcending" artist are the ones that show a deeper understanding of their medium, often including elements from outside their genre, such that they often appeal to audiences that aren't typically associated with their genre. These are the, "I don't like country music, but I love so-and-so" type artist. They are (usually) the ones that last beyond their time.

"Progressive" artists are similar to "transcending" in that they have a deeper understanding of their medium, but they go in a different direction. Instead of using that understanding to explore common ground, they explore new ground, often leading to new genres. Often pure genius, but just as often dismissed by most as "weird".

I suppose there's a 4th category....bad. But that's another story.

So, as a general rule, if it's something in a genre that clicks with you, you're likely to enjoy it no matter which of the 3 buckets the artist falls into. Whereas if it's a genre that you're not a fan of, it would take one of the "edge" categories (transcending or progressive) for you to enjoy it.

All generalizations, of course. For example, as an audience I gravitate towards the progressives end of things even in the genres I like. But I'm still more likely to like a genre artist from a genre I naturally enjoy than one from a genre I dislike.