James Dean Bradfield, lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, led the tributes.
He said: "It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard.
"He was a lifeline to hearing music I would never have heard otherwise. He was a portal to a whole new world."
Blur frontman Damon Albarn said: "John Peel's patronage was for me, like countless other musicians, one of the most significant things that happened to us in our careers.
"The world is going to be a poorer place with his sudden departure.
"I will miss him deeply. I want to send my heartfelt sympathy to his lovely family. John's memory will never be forgotten because he had the spirit of music in him."
Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker said: "It would be absolutely impossible to write a history of the last 40 years of the British music scene without mentioning John Peel's name.
"He was one of those few people about whom you could truly say that the world would have been a much different place without him.
"For many years he almost single-handedly championed new and challenging music in the UK."
"Through his radio sessions he allowed unknown and unsigned bands to be heard for the first time."
Elvis Costello said: "I was terribly sad to hear the news, even though I hardly knew the man. Like many others, I felt I knew him from his voice on the radio.
"He was the contradiction of every bad thing you could say about radio.
"He had an open mind about music, whether he was bringing the listener the Incredible String Band or the Fall, Mike Hart or Echo and the Bunnymen, and countless bands that appeared only to be heard on his great shows.
"Our brief conversations were centred on our mutual love of Liverpool FC. A great man, a fabulous curmudgeon, he was as rare as the music that he loved."
Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg described Peel as a "champion" of musicians and a "true friend" of his listeners.
He said: "I am greatly saddened to hear of the death of John Peel and my thoughts are with his wife Sheila and his family.
"He was the first DJ to play my music and has remained a good mate over the years.
"Throughout his career, John Peel defined independent music.
"Although he became an institution at the BBC, he was, in effect, running his own pirate radio station from within the Corporation, introducing us to music that could not be heard on any other radio show.
"Those artists, like myself, who benefited from his eclectic enthusiasm have lost a champion, but the listeners have lost a true friend."
DJ Jo Whiley, who presented coverage of the Glastonbury Festival with Peel, paid tribute to her colleague and close friend.
"John was simply one of my favourite men in the whole world - as a music fan and presenter he was simply an inspiration," she said.
One of the bands Peel championed was Joy Division, who recorded their first Peel Session in 1979.
Band member Bernard Sumner, who went on to become the singer and guitarist with New Order, said: "This is a dreadful shock.
"If it wasn't for John Peel, there would be no Joy Division and no New Order.
"He was one of the few people to give bands that played alternative music a chance to get heard, and he continued to be a champion of cutting-edge music throughout his life.
"He will be genuinely missed by millions of music fans all over the world, both inside and outside the music industry. Our thoughts are with his family."
Radio presenter Mark Goodier told the ITV News Channel: "Peel is one of the guys who turned me on to wanting to do the job I have done.
"He was a remarkable natural broadcaster. He was DJ royalty. He was unsackable. I am truly shocked and very sad that he would go at such an early age."
Andy McCluskey, of synthesiser pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, said he owed a "debt of gratitude" to Peel.
He said: "John Peel played a single but crucial role in my early career.
"He played our first single, Electricity, on his evening show and thanks to him it sold out its first 5,000 run within a week.
"We both come from the same part of the world, the Wirral, but that was not why he chose to play it.
"He played music because he liked it, not because he was being told to play it or he wanted to be in on the next big thing.
"He championed bands when they were starting out and the music was still raw.
"There will be many musicians and bands out there today who feel a debt of gratitude to John Peel. I am certainly one of them.
"This is a hugely sad day."
Gruff Rhys, of the Super Furry Animals, said the band was in "shock".
"He was very inclusive of all kinds of music, very open-minded, and introduced a lot of diverse music to the public.
"He championed Welsh language music and for years was the only DJ on national radio who was willing to embrace it," he told BBC News Online.
"He was very wary of trends such as Britpop, he was introducing people to drum 'n' bass and techno, things that were going on outside of the media."
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