Lou Reed is a musician who lives in New York. In 1996, Lou Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of The Velvet Underground and received the Heroes award from the New York Chapter of NARAS in 1997. The French government awarded Reed with the Chevalier Commander of Arts and Letters.

Reed has acted in and composed music for a number of movies. Was designated an AMERICAN MASTER in 1998 by the award winning PBS documentary series and that same year, Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, won the Grammy for Best Long Form Documentary. "Pass Thru Fire," a collection of his lyrics, was published in the fall of 1999 by Hyperion. That same year, he was the special guest exhibitor for the photo show "extraETordinaire" at the Printemps de Cahors. Ecstasy (Reprise), Reed's 18th solo studio recording, was released in February 2000 to critical acclaim. New York Magazine honored Reed with its year-end music award. POEtry, a new theatrical collaboration with Robert Wilson, had successful debuts in Hamburg (Thalia Theater), Paris (L'Odeon) in 2000 and in Amsterdam (Het Muziektheatre) spring 2001. POEtry had its American debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November 2001. Also in 2001(and continuing in 2002), the avant garde German music collective Zeitkratzer performed Metal Machine Music and some of the latest electronic music written by Reed.

In the summer of 2002, an evening of words and music with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson was performed at selected European venues. Lou Reed recorded "The Raven," a complete reworking of POETRY, the production for which Reed collaborated with Robert Wilson in 2001 The diverse list of guest artists includes Steve Buscemi, David Bowie, Wilem Dafoe, Ornette Coleman and Elizabeth Ashley and was release on January 28, 2003 on Sire/Reprise Records. The text of The Raven was published by Grove Press later that year. Luciano Pavarotti invited Lou Reed to duet and guest performs at the Pavarotti International 2002, in Modena, Italy.

On June 3 2003, Reed released NYC Man - The Collection, a compilation of his greatest hits spanning his days in the Velvet Underground through his current solo material. Reed selected and sequenced the tracks for the release. NYC Man features classic Reed tracks, like Walk on the Wild Side, Sweet Jane, Pale Blue Eyes, Heroin and Perfect Day. Reed spent much of 2003 touring throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia, and in March 2004 released Animal Serenade on Sire/Reprise, recorded live at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Emotion In Action, a double book edition of Reed's photographs was published in October 2003 by 7L and Gerhard Steidl.