Music artists who walked away at the top of their game

There are many ways to leave a career: through frustration with the industry, because of conflicts with your band, because you’re no longer makin’ the hits you once you used to, or maybe, just maybe, you want to try something else.

Yet rare is the case of an artist or group that is able to leave on their own terms. Even rarer are artists who at their creative or commercial apex and just decide to be done with it, leaving their legacy wholly intact. So let’s take a moment and celebrate those creative sonic auteurs who managed to walk away from the industry at the top of their game (and, as this list implies conscious choices, artists who passed away at the peak of their powers deserve a list all their own).