So then what are a few examples of that? My point was that regardless of style that most any artist does their best work in the 1st half of their careers. I don't care if they change their sound/style later on - I just want it to be good.
I understood your point, and even agreed. All I said was that it's not 100% the case and despite diminishing returns over time, some artists are still capable of greatness late in their careers. Will it compare to their earlier efforts? Probably not. But taken on their own, they can still be considered great efforts.
As for examples, here are a few off the top of my head:
Petty released some great albums in the 90s after a decline in quality as the 80s wore on. I'd even argue that an album like Wildflowers is the best thing he's ever done.
McCartney has a few albums since 2000 that have been great.
Soundgarden's "King Animal".
Black Sabbath's "13" was the best release under that band name since Dio was in the band.
Van Halen's "A Different Kind Of Truth" was pretty goddamn great as well. I will grant that some of the tracks were old unused ideas re-worked, but this happens far more frequently than most listeners are even aware of.
Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind" and "Love And Theft".
This is all pretty mainstream stuff, but there are examples of this on lower tiers of popularity as well.
