[jmfldn]

Depends what we mean by better. If you prefer rock music to Bach then great. Enjoy! I love popular music and classical for different reasons

But if we're talking skill, intellectual depth, craft, then there are objective criteria. Take Bach, his music is like a masterpiece of engineering with its unparalleled compositional complexity and craftsmanship. His mastery of counterpoint being but one example. His work represents a pinnacle of musical architecture, establishing foundational principles that profoundly influenced centuries of Western music.

That just doesn't compare to most pop music does it?

[stirfish]

Counterpoint is cool, but a lot of the time is carries the emotional weight of listening to someone solve sudoku.

Objectively, Bach lacks the skill and emotional depth to write a song about that lonely feeling you get when you drink too much and get kicked out of the party (a foundational principal of Country Western music)

[graycat]

> Bach lacks the skill and emotional depth to write a song about that lonely feeling

For a wide range of such feelings, some can regard as "lonely", as they develop, achieve a triumph, a catharsis, and finally a recapitulation and a comforting, secure resolution -- communication, interpretation of human experience, emotion, i.e., art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEUYq5t-cCM

Bach wrote it for solo violin, but it's been arranged for solo piano, full orchestra, etc.