So which is better? Or do you like more, rather.

Lou Reed since I don't know John Cales work that well

John CAle.
In a landslide.

Nothing against Lou solo, he's good. But it's always Lou. John Cale is Bowie-esque in his constant reinventions of his musical personnae. Pop to aggro to electronica to symphonic.

Just a much more interesting overall body of work, IMO. And one of my favorites.

Wasn't this a thread a couple of months back? I think it was one of Todd's.

Anyway, I vote Lou, in an Everest style avalanche . Although I appreciate Cale, as well. I still need to find Songs for Drella on cd. That way we can argue about who props up who on that album.

Though I've always loved Reed's lyrics, even his more recent ones that get panned, his limited vocal ability and his reliance on the same riffs and semi-melodies over and over again make him less interesting to me than Cale. Cale has an emotional impact that's lacking in a lot of Reed's work, though Reed's content is always impressive.

Cale by a tiny margin, though there's no real need to choose one over the other.

Cale wins by 17.3 meters.

That's the length of a C-2A Greyhound twin-engine cargo aircraft. Not sure if there's any significance to that.

Reed in a landslide.

Cale's work is so much more consistent. I'd even go as far as saying that even at Reed's best his work still pales in comparison.