Following the death of Michael Jackson (and perhaps David Bowie), I remember some people here speculating that as great as Prince is, his passing would never be met with the outpouring of grief, emotion and media coverage that MJ's death was - especially as Prince had become by 2009 more of a cult artist with less popular appeal. Frankly, with that in mind, are you surprised by the degree and depth of the reaction to Prince's death? It seems to me that his artistic credibility and talent are more esteemed by musicians and the public alike than even the two giants mentioned above. I don't want this to be another Prince versus MJ thread but I simply want to gauge reactions about how important Prince really is for such a cross-section of people.

I don't care what others think, to me he was the most important. Period.
I am not surprised his peers are grieving him