Story time. Grew up in a predominantly black area, with almost all black students in the South. As such, everyone mostly listened to the same things; gospel, rap, and r&b. Pop, however, seemed to be universal. Everyone listened to boy bands, Britney Spears, etc. Rock and such were labeled "white people music", and you never ran into too many kids who listened to it. I'd heard a few rock songs, but never really cared to delve into it. My mother was, and still is an amazing singer. She'd listen to and sing Whitney Houston all the time, and as a kid, you want to sing along, so I did. My dad had tons of R&B I'd burn into CD's back in the CD burning days.


Fast forward to 18. I've loved video games my whole life, and as we all know, music is a HUGE part of games. I used to read about this really popular game called Guitar Hero in Gamepro magazine, but never played. One day, I venture into the common room and see a bunch of guys playing Guitar Hero 2. Being the gamer that |I am, I had to try it for myself. I liked it so much I bought my own copy, and got good enough to play most games on expert. While playing, I started appreciating many of the songs on the game. I started looking up songs by some of the artists, and before long, I had become a fan of rock music.

Around that time Fallout 3 came out and took over my life, if you've played Fallout 3, you know the radio can be soothing to listen to when you're creeped the fuk out crawling through ghoul infested subways. Some of those songs were catchy, and I started branching out again. I eventually started listening to older songs from the 50's and up. When New Vegas came out, I was solidly a Frank Sinatra and crooner fan.

From there I just started listening to everything. It was like a whole new world had been opened up to me. To the day, shuffle on my phone could be anything from rap, country, house, r&b, classical, jazz, blues, swing, crooner music, anime theme songs, gaming soundtracks, the works.

While overall I'd still put R&B at the top (nothing let's you sing your whole heart out like older R&B), I can enjoy pretty much any genre depending on my mood. Lifting? Metal, hard rock, rap, power ballads, anime openings.

What's your story?

I've loved rock music as far back as I can remember. I remember me and my brother walking across the street from where we lived to the record store to buy Kiss Alive II when it came out. lol I also liked disco and pop and easy listening since my mom listened to that. I still like all of those, just not so much recent pop. There may be a couple pop songs I like if they come on the radio but it's not many.

ETA: I have no idea what influenced the rock. My mom was def not into that.

Branched out from those, or is it pretty much the same?

Pretty much same. Still primarily listen to rock. I guess the thing that changed is I also now like a little bit harder rock then I did back when I was young. I grew up with hair bands which wasn't really hard rock. I don't like thrash or hardcore metal but now I like stuff like Disturb and some other bands harder stuff.

Liked stupid pop music as a kid.

Started playing guitar at 12, so immediately got into Guns and Roses, Metallica, all the grunge stuff, and classic rock like Led Zeppelin.

By end of high school and college, had also gotten into a ton of punk: Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Face to Face, Fugazi, Black Flag, etc...

Played in a band throughout college also playing local clubs, then eventually getting an engineering degree got in the way and I couldn't hang around smoky bars until 4am anymore.

Last year of college I had a throwaway class and took a "history of music" class or something like that. Discovered I really, really loved romantic period classical music: Tchaikovsky, Smetana, Berlioz, Wagner, Chopin, Brahms, etc

During adulthood still listen to all of the above and have branched out a little. I generally don't like country but I can listen to Chris Stapleton. I never liked hip-hop but I love Outkast and some others, etc...I like Bela Fleck and some bluegrass.

I would say at this point I like anything in any genre where the artists are actually musically talented, probably because I've played guitar and bass my entire life.

But 95% of my listening now is grunge rock, Led Zeppelin, Bela Fleck, 90s and 2000s rap/hip-hop, or classical music.

Mornin'...."has your musical taste changed over the years? What influenced it?"

In a word...no.

Being an old fossil and a long time musician myself makes me very particularabout what I like, what has any listening appeal or any musical merit.
Admittedly, my generational music taste and preferences are still alive & kicking.

Carry on.

Are you averse to normal conversations?

As I've grown older I've started to like folkloric regional music more and more. Currently listening to lots of Balkanink and Turkish music.

That one alt ****ed up your name bro. Now everytime I see your name, the first thing that comes to my mind is butthole.

YouTube has given me some strong influences lately actually, introduced me to a band called Nightwish that got me back into heavy metal and also to some singers from other countries who are insanely good but don't get much attention here

Should check out vocal coaches reaching to Dimash

Similar to your journey, my music tastes seems to just get a new expansion pack every few years

Age 8-14: Rap, gospel, soul

Age 14-18: Backpacker rap, classic rock, radio country

Age 18-23: EDM, IDM, ******t

23+: old af country, black metal for the gym


Honestly, these days I've been listening to nothing but Grunge srs. I used to hate Grunge, idk what happened but it speaks to me now as a 34 year old

Not much. I’ve been a lifelong Hip Hop head and I’ve clung to the golden era 90s east coast sound even when those around me moved on.

The main difference is that since 25ish I’ve preferred to listen to music with a message behind it rather than just vibe out to some dumb chit. I want rappers to make me think and feel something meaningful about life. When I was younger it was more chit to get amped up and feel powerful (srs).

Great question and a fun topic, so thanks!
Growing up in a mixed diverse DC area, i was exposed to everything so here is the timeline.

Parents liked Jazz and knew musicians so that was the first exposure( Miles Davis, James Mtume, Chuck Mangione and many others)
When i was in elementary school, it was the pop artists, west coast rap, and R+B
When in high school i was exposed to go-go music, "new wave/modern rock/electronic music" and loved it( parents thought i was odd)
College continued to dance music or club music/electronic
After college "progressive" music or alternative, think college radio.
Young adulthood was everything from rap, electronic, rock, r+b, you name it.
Now my favorite artist, along with all the other types of music, is the best singer on Earth, an alien named Dimash Kudibergen.

Definitely went through phases, Rock, Rap, R&B.

Games like THPS got me into other styles, mainly alternative.

Shows like TUF and The Challenge played small bits of other music that got my interest.

Became a big fan of ADTR, KSE

I loved punk rock in my teens

I loved hip hop all through my college years.

I was really into b boy culture and painted alot of graffiti and went to rap battles and stuff

I went to scribble jam which ruled


I still love hip hop but it's obviously terrible now


In my I'd 30s I find myself listening to everything dead srs. (no country it's garbage music)

I listen to alot of my parents music. Old rock and roll from the 70s and 80s. I have alot of old records too

Idk everything is a vibe to me. I listen to orchestra stuff alot too.

If I didn't have a really nice stereo setup for listening to music I wouldn't listen to as much but I can enjoy anything when it's high quality

listening to music was an actual hobby for my Dad and Grandfather. Both of them have had some insane stereo setups over the years. Between the two of them, they covered most genres except the boy bands and hip hop from when I was growing up (lol I was ashamed to tell them how much I enjoyed rap). I am fortunate to have been exposed to so much great music and live shows when I was so young. Because of that influence my music tastes have remained dynamic, and I am always able to find music I really enjoy in new bands

Didn't give a single chit about music until I was about 14 years old.

Liked mostly 90's with some late-80's and early 2000's rap as a teenager, with some pseudo-punk rock, emo bands, and nu-metal bands thrown in. Think the famous rappers of the 90's/early 2000's, blink-182, Green Day, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, etc. I lol at almost all of this junk nowadays.

Around 20, I stopped listening to almost all of the other stuff I used to like and got into 70's/80's metal and classic rock.

Nowadays, I don't really give a chit about music at all. I still prefer and choose classic rock (mostly 70's with some 60's and 80's sprinkled in) almost any time I choose to listen to music, but I get burned out after about 2 or 3 songs and gotta turn it off. I don't know how people in their 30's and beyond care about bullchit like going to music concerts and chit. Very, very few live music shows are worth my time anymore. Got burned out on them in my late teens and 20's, and I also just don't find them enjoyable anymore.

On recharge. Appreciate the posts

Interesting. Burned out on music is so alien to me. I'll ride in the car in silence a lot and take a break, but long periods of no music is unthinkable.

I don't know, man. I still like music, I just can't sit there and listen to it for long stretches like I used to. I have to be in the right mood with the right people on a long car ride or something to enjoy listening to more than 3 or 4 songs in a row now. I end up listening to a lot of talk radio in the car like a true oldcel these days lol

I always liked rock, even as a baby according to my mom.

When I was around 10ish, we had just seen School of Rock, and my brother found Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" on my dad's LZ box set. He later also made a mix CD soon after and gave me a copy. Had the "Immigrant Song" as well as some AC/DC and a bunch of the rock-ish stuff of the day - Green Day, MCR, Linkin Park, Blink-182. That was all I listened to for a few years.

I started buying music on iTunes and listened to mostly similar stuff - maybe started with RHCP and Nirvana, but that was expensive, so I started ripping my dad's CD collection. Got me into a lot of stuff: Billy Joel, the Beatles, Bad Religion, The Cure, The Clash, Depeche Mode, Ben Folds,

Started looking for more interesting drumming later in high school and got into prog and metal. Listened to a lot of Tool then. Also started reading more online sources looking for new weird music. Found the Pixies, who were my first concert, through the Nirvana connection. Started using Sputnik Music for discovery a lot then. I have found a lot of good stuff through there, and I still use it. Got into a lot of prog and math/post rock through Sputnik, like Gospel, Tricot, and Slint.

Some time in college, I saw someone post "Counting Stars" by Nujabes on a forum. I still really wasn't into hip-hop, but I kept coming back to that song and eventually gave in. Love Nujabes now. I don't listen to hip-hop a ton still, but I definitely appreciate the classics/big albums at least. Checkec out a bunch of trip-hop too, and I think that's how I got into Bjork.

Towards the end of college, I saw a bunch of people I liked including Japanese Breakfast talking about Carly Rae Jepsen. Got into her, and that has caused me to get into a lot more popish stuff e.g. Rina Sawayama. Had a similar deal stumbling on Jeff Rosenstock and getting back into some pop punk stuff.

E: tried to rep but on spread. Fun thread topic

My tastes haven’t changed , and I still listen to songs I listened to as I was growing up .
Mostly Rock and classic rock, although I do like listening to Canon and other classics on piano

Yeah man, almost everything I do listen to is from the 70's, a bit of 60's and 80's. Or from bands and acts that at least started back then. A smidge of 90's music. Hardly anything from the last 25 years of music is worth my time.

inb4 someone rushes in to talk about some obscure underground rappers I'm supposed to care about who sound like a poorly produced mix between Kendrick Lamar and a mumble rapper

Listened to all types of music since I can remember. Grew up going to the south side of Chicago quite a bit & back then I’d hear lots of soul music which to this day I still enjoy. From old school rap to mild heavy metal, to trance to signer songwriters like Jim Croce & Neil Diamond, I like it all.

Lately however I must enjoy the older Christian music ..which I hated growing up as an atheist, but now a Christian there are certain songs I hear that legit bring me to tears.

The secular music I enjoy these days, is something like this..if you don’t like this music, I feel something might be wrong with you..

I don't listen to much gospel anymore as I went the opposite direction, but I still enjoy songs I listened to growing up. Ever listen to any Kirk Franklin or Donald Lawrence?

This was one of my favorites from choir in high school



Can still hold that note at the end.

Nice one mate

My brothers best friend who very sadly died at 21, he would look after me in summer holidays to earn some cash (he was probably 18 or so). Went to get McDonald's and he was playing Metallica and Wherever I May Roam was on his CD player in his car, asked him what it was an loved it (i was 8). Wanted to play drums and loved Lars Ulrich and my mum took my to have drum lessons to see if I liked it. So got into drumming via Metallica. Then a year or so later my dad was watching pink floyd on the TV and i asked him who that was, and was struck. Started playing my brothers guitar and dabbled in that.

Got into more progressive music as I got older like Dream Theatre but in school I was into very dark metallica like Dimmu Borgir. Loved metal as I played a lot of double kick drum metal (Lamb of god, Arch enemy)

These days I don't listen to metal but I love it when a metal riff hits you, I'm just not a huge fan of the vocals unless I'm looking to get angry (lifting)