To take that statement one step further, Steely Dan never made a truly terrible song.

Stone Temple Pilots is one of those bands. Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of those bands. Steely Dan is one of those bands.

Those bands are the ones that have their songs scattered throughout rock radio stations across the country, and most of the time people do not realize what they are listening to.

Steely Dan certainly is one of those bands in the sense that songs like Do it Again, Deacon Blues and Ricki Dont Lose That Number have been staples of classic radio for decades and still people usually say, Wait, whos Dan? when talking about Steely Dan.

There is no one named Dan in the band, and in actuality, Steely Dan is the name of a steam-powered dildo in a William S. Burroughs novel, so right there you know they have to be cool.

There are not many bands that can say they have never released a bad album, but Steely Dan is certainly one of those bands. I suppose The Beatles never did, Tom Petty never really bit the bullet, and Zeppelin almost got off clean, but not many bands go without making a single bad album.

To take that statement one step further, Steely Dan never made a truly terrible song. Sure, they have songs that are not great, but they do not have a Revolution #9 or a Hot Dog that is the sore thumb of their catalogue.

Instead, they put out seven stellar albums in the 1970s, one in 1980 and two more recent albums, equaling 10 albums “ none of which have been sub-par.

Steely Dan will also drive you crazy if you dare and try and pick out a favorite album. People usually can narrow it down to two choices, even with The Beatles and Pink Floyd, but with Steely Dan you truly cannot pick a favorite album.

Aja may contain the most staples, but Pretzel Logic does not have one song that is not stellar and The Royal Scam contains some of the best guitar playing of the 1970s and Katy Lied â?¦ a fan could go on all day.

So why has Steely Dan never attained real popularity? Sure they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they did win a Grammy recently, but real popularity has eluded them for their entire careers.

Is it the jazz patterns that guitar freaks cannot even decipher? The lyrics that are just as dark as any Tom Waits song? Their refusal to appear on their album covers? All these things make them great, but apparently people do not agree.

What happened to bands with great back catalogues? What happened to bands that can release box sets that are not ridiculously painful to listen to? My Chemical Romance is all the hype now after several mediocre albums and they grace the cover of every music magazine the country has to offer.

Steely Dan is a band that earned their stripes with great albums, great songs, great songwriting and great musicianship. Where is that band today?

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