The Velvet Underground's career can be summed up as: "Commercially unsuccessful, but enormously influential". On a side note, if you have a few minutes to spare, read Lou Reed's review of Kanye's Yeezus : http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed It's interesting to read a legend's opinion on a modern pop-star.
Reading that is like watching Lou Reed mentally wrestle himself to the ground. He really doesn't like the record, but keeps rationalizing: the annoying synth sound as a "challenge"; the abrupt changes are challenging and keeping us "off balance. But soon after undermines his own rationalizations to note (correctly, in my view) that the real reason to make music is to make something beautiful, and hope that other people agree with you. And there he truly uncovers what's wrong with Kanye's music, and all that ilk: it's disdain of the listener. Anyone who listens to it is Kanye's bitch, willing to take all of his musical shit and like it, and Kanye knows it. And he definitely likes it.
Here we see clearly: Lou Reed isn't anyone's bitch, even when some egalitarian part of himself perversely really wants to be. We are witnessing, in black and white, his higher principles assert themselves even after he his lower ones sacrifice aesthetics and credibility on their petty alter named 'open-mindedness'. He means well here, but he just can't get away from his own good taste.
Makes me respect Lou Reed more, actually.