That, I'd agree with. Townsend, early on, told the band to "do what I say and we will all be rich." It took a while for that to sink in, but when it did, they produced songs our kids will listen to, even if we don't make them. Hell, all they have to do is watch CSI... Townsend once said that "sometimes there are mistakes in my guitar playing. It's adequate for the task, so I leave them in." Very interesting guy. I think when all is said and done, The Who will be The Bargain.

FWIW, I rank songwriters, loosely, today:

Cole Porter
John Hiatt
Pete Townsend
Towns Van Zandt
Aaron Copeland
Richard Thompson
Bob Dylan (though I don't like his music)
Woody Guthrie
Bruce Springsteen
Reginald Dwight
Paul McCartney
Diane Warren
Elvis Costello
John Mellencamp

Not all of them had home runs every time at bat, but some of their stuff is A-list and always will be, as far as storytelling, depicting a time, place, and people. Not all of them will ever be popular or rich. There are likely African-American artists I've never heard enough of to add to my list, because they simply did not have the opportunity to get published and recorded and produced and sold.