Why were quasars and active galaxies not initially recognized as being "special" in some way?

In the past, astronomers look into the sky and the universe as a whole with an idea that it is a place where stars are born, transition through their life stages and ultimately die and this is because they couldnt differentiate between stars, quasars and active galaxies because with advanced equipment, they all look similar but as they technological ages arrived, they were able see that they are not the same.