Won't weigh in on the arguments/binary posited upthread. But will say . . . I've seen Steely Dan and they were actually better live than on record. Making it to the show was a pain, and not my idea of fun; had a decent amount going on, and I was kinda overworked/psychically fried/not in the best of spirits. But the music was great, to the point that the records sounded a little thin when I put them on a day or so later. The band's drummer Keith Carlock is a beast. A guy from the El Michels Affair was on trumpet. They had two RnB-style backup singers, and the keyboard lead-ins to songs like "Black Friday" were baroque in a special way. I used to find "The Dan" tedious and ineffectual, and annoying (!), but they rule in the right context. One of the last bands a person should foist on non-believers though.