I believe that the pinnacle of modern music came around the late 60's to the mid-70s. To play an instrument well was admired and those that played the best were hero-worshiped. I'm not saying that all the best music was written then, but a lot was, and all I'm saying is that with the advent of Punk the ability to play well was secondary to the "sound" and "image". So Frankie Goes To Hollywood came up with big hits like "Relax" in the post-Punk era. Clever melody and catchy lyrics but what was sad was that none of the musicians were thought good enough to be used on the album. So the producer used people who had learned their trade in the late 60's and early 70's for the studio recordings.