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The only dead musician I really wish were still around is Joe Strummer. Streetcore was a posthumus album and is one of my top five favorite albums of all time, so I can only imagine what great stuff he would be putting out if he were still around. I mean, yeah, it'd be nice if Lennon or Marley or Cobain hadn't died, but I think Lennon had gotten about as good as he was going to get, Marley is at least as influential in death as he was alive, and was kinda spotty musically, and Cobain definately has the aura about him he has because of his suicide. There's some other singers/musicians I'd like to still have around, Layne Stailey, for example, and the guys from Lynyrd Skynyrd who died in the plane crash, but Strummer's the only one where I think "man, he'd be crushing everything else out right now if he were still alive."
Actually, I take that back. I think Frank Zappa is definately someone who'd be benefitial to have around right now. Besides the fact that he was a really unique and unbelievably talented musician and composer, we need someone like him who's both politically active and intelligent about it like Zappa was. I hear about a lot of stupid shit (WM3, various music censorship-related things, the music backlash from Columbine, et cetera) and think "too bad Frank Zappa's not around, a lot of the people representing the musicians are idiots"(except the WM3 cause).
So, really, the only two guys I really wish were still around are Frank Zappa and Joe Strummer, but for different reasons. When Tom Waits dies, I'll wish he were still around as well.
EDIT: Okay, I just noticed that I didn't really answer the question that started the thread. But I don't feel like changing my answer.
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