Lou Reed, one of the greatest rock'n'roll stars of them all, has died. He was 71 years of age.

While the cause of his death has not yet been released, Reed underwent a liver transplant in May of this year. He is survived by his partner, the musician, songwriter and artist, Laurie Anderson.

"He truly was one of the giants of modern music," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. "Everyone who has any interest in rock'n'roll music knows just how crucial The Velvet Underground were. That was where Lou first came to prominence. But since that early, hugely influential flourish, he has continued to make vital ground-breaking music of extraordinary power and reach throughout his career.

"As early as 1972, he released Transformer, which is right up there among the greatest rock albums of all time. Everyone knows 'Take A Walk On The Wild Side', which is one of the most resonant single tracks in rock history. But Transformer is packed with great songs and original ideas – with 'Perfect Day' and 'Satellite of Love' among the best known standouts.

"I remember being similarly stopped in my tracks when I heard Street Hassle, which was released in 1978. It was another extraordinary album, which rendered all of the posturing of the moment about punk and new wave and the true spirit of rock'n'roll utterly irrelevant. Lou Reed embodied it.

"In terms of artistic achievement, I think the trilogy made up by New York, Magic and Loss and Set The Twilight Reeling, released between 1989 and 1996, stands right at the apex of what contemporary music can aspire to. The songs are of such outstanding quality. He could be passionate, humorous, emotional and utterly cold and objective, depending on what he wanted or needed to say. But throughout his work, and in all sorts of different ways, he brilliantly expressed a sense of personal adventure, as well as a commitment to freedom of ideas, to sexual freedom, and to what he referred to in 'Coney Island Baby' as the glory of love – all of which are so integral to what rock music at its best has been and can be about.

"On Set The Twilight Reeling, Lou wrote 'Finish Line', as a tribute to the Velvet Underground guitarist Sterling Morrison, who had died the previous year. He sang about:

'Two rented brothers. Their faces keep changing/
Just like these feelings I have for you/
And nothing's forever not even five minutes/
When you're headed for the finish line'.

"For us mere mortals, it is true indeed that nothing is forever. Lou Reed himself has reached the finish line. But great art outlives us all, and Lou Reed has given us some of the greatest art in modern music. We owe him a great debt of thanks for that."