I suppose the evolution of our musical tastes is a measure of our ability to evolve as individuals. As a young kid I never had a ton of interest in music, just listened to whatever mom and dad played (a mixture of country and some 70's rock). About junior high I got very much into heavy metal, as well as classical. Through my 20's I was mostly into those genres but branched out a bit into various kinds of music, particularly jazz. It was about that time that my appreciation for classical widened to include opera, a format that I couldn't warm up to in my teens. In my 30's I began to discover alt-rock, -country, etc.

In my mind we live in a Golden Era for music! The business side may be suffering from excessive corporate control and consolidation but technology has democratized music to a degree that wasn't seen before. In the 50s-2010s what we heard was mostly decided by a cadre of old white men. But now you can use inexpensive software and electronics to create your own stuff and publish to various online platforms without the middleman. This no only gives musicians but also the fans access to a lot more options. I grew up in a little town in South Dakota in the 70s and 80s. There was no internet so I only knew about new music from the radio and a few music magazines (yes, printed mags!) like Hit Parader, Circus, Kerrang, etc. But now I can go to youtube and see bands like Babymetal in Japan, Opeth in Norway, Viva Vox in Belgrade, etc. Much as we on the forums can learn from folks all over the nation and the world, music lovers can do the same thing.

On a personal level I do still like some of the hair metal of my youth, although I'm sure a lot of it is nostalgia. Many of my favorites though are primarily dating from the last decade or two.