I think @ellajeanelle has it right-- to me, it's got a lot to do with your point of entry, when you really engaged. I listen to a wide range of material that goes back earlier- particularly in heavy rock (apropos Alice Cooper, to me, their pinnacle is Love it to Death, but that's subjective, isn't it? And I only appreciated that album decades later- at the time of release I thought it juvenile).

The key in my estimation is exposure. I guess that's one good thing about the current streaming phenomenon-- it gives you the opportunity to hear things without the cost of buying physical media. (that said, I have a hard time finding deep catalog jazz on Qobuz, something I have mentioned elsewhere).

I'm all about the adventure of finding "new to me" music. One of my early "hooks" was UK Island- Chris Blackwell signed some amazing acts. The first Free album is very underproduced (Guy Stevens) but man, Kossoff is just so inside the songs without overplaying. 

A long time favorite is Bad Brains i against i. A fusion band that could turn on a dime, they converted themselves to Rastafarian post punk. Crazy cool. The Repo Man soundtrack has a great sampling of West Coast hardcore. 

It took me years to find my ears for jazz- I was familiar with the standards but it was the post-bop stuff in the '70s that finally struck a chord with me. 

I do think this is a very personal journey and that each of us varies in our taste. 

One of our family friends was a long time sideman for NRBQ, who I saw a bunch of times back in the day. Those guys could rock. Hell, we saw Little Richard when he was about 80-- he didn't have the voice he once did, but still had his piano chops. I could go on--from Glen Campbell to Etta James. There were so many greats.

We went to hear Black Pumas the other night- very good show. Are they the pinnacle for me? I'm not sure I'd say that, but we had a good time. Tomorrow night we go hear Marc Broussard, who I'd characterize as "swamp soul."

Get out there and hear some bands. And for those who are now gone, reach beyond your usual fare. Lots of riches out there to be tapped. 

Oh, and old school disco is back! Who doesn't love the Shuggie Otis "Strawberry Letter #23" as covered by the Bros Johnson? :)

@tony1954- interesting album, Lifeboat. It has a lot of the "usual suspects" including Stevie W. (also a Blackwell "discovery" via Spencer Davis) and John Bundrick and early cuts were done by George Peckham (aka "Porky"). 

Chris was one of those few guys who had an "ear" as a label chief and was very attuned to the music itself--he was someone who was considered artist "friendly."

Another outlier is John Martyn's Solid Air- not obscure, but it doesn't get the level of attention it probably deserves. Ditto Roy Harper's Stormcock--"The Same Old Rock" is an opus- with a fully primed Jimmy Page playing 12 string. Highly recommended if you haven't heard it. 

On Elton, I favor Tumbleweed, both for the writing and performance- I have multiple DJM pressings- oddly, the earliest UK cut has the least bombastic bass- some of them are bass monsters.

@tablejockey - throw in Disco Inferno too.

@Berner99- one early cover of "Can't find my Way Back Home" came out of that studio on LI where Bonnie Raitt was scheduled to perform and Lowell George sat  in with her crew. It's a good rendition. It's a shame the original album is a bad recording- the best version I've found is still the OG UK, with the controversial cover art.

To me, the importance is to dig in-- we can disagree about artists--e.g., Shuggie v. Bros. J but it puts us in a place where our brain is thinking about music. For that, I thank Tony1954 for his list. It got me thinking.