Why does most new music suck?

As Jrb25 mentions above, every musical era has had this issue. Over time though, we forget the crap that was put out and has faded into obscurity. What we do remember is the really great stuff and of course most of that is still around today (because old farts like us are still buying/listening to it). Having said that, I do think it's easier to produce music today than ever before with all of the great/lousy technology we have at our disposal. So, as has also been said, I think there is more new music today that we have to sift through to find the gems. Whether it's better or worse depends on your viewpoint. On the one hand, back in the "old days" record companies decided who would get produced and who was shown the door, then they collaborated with radio stations to play what they wanted played and that "produced" a lot of hits. I'm sure a lot of music that we would have liked never got heard because of decisions made in back rooms. Today, indie artists can produce their own albums and release them electronically (YouTube). No need to press CDs, LPs, etc.

So, 20-30 years from now I expect the same discussions to be going on. I probably won't be here to hear them though!

ITs mostly just the culmination of what started back in the day largely with Elvis, The BEatles, etc., ie popular music is now all about money, not just mostly. Also increasingly visual these days given that music alone does not sell as well as it could. It helps to have appealing visuals.

So my suggestion is forget about "popular" music. Only very small % is widely popular. Plenty of ways to find the "less popular" good stuff these days, more ways than ever. Stop complaining and just find it!

BTW I hated a lot of popular music from the 60-80s when it came out and like more of it alot more these days. Time always tells. Will same be true 20 years from now? Probably. Just a different group of people bitching.

Do what nonoise suggests, find ways to expand and get out of your comfort zone. DOing that can benefit us in many ways as we age including helping to find new music we like. Maybe a nice glass of wine while listening will help.

Personally, I was born in 1959. In recent years I have learned to mine and find a lot of great music, popular and otherwise, that came out before the time I became of age and got indoctrined by the Beatles and rock music. ITs amazing how good a decent remaster of DUke Ellington from even the 1930's for example can sound these days when done well. I've even digitized and put all my families old 78s on my music server, some of which are quite old. I find its mostly all good. I will say though that i tend to mix in modern "popular" recordings in smaller limited doses, but there is a ton of other less popular newer recordings that I enjoy regularly. It's all out there just waiting to be discovered and listened to.

Can there be any doubt there has never been a better time to be a music lover than today? Music is a blessing! We have a huge variety, so much so finding and choosing can be harder than ever. IF you are a music lover, just count your blessings and enjoy it!

If your local public library is anything like mine, periodic trips to the library to seek out new music to listen to can be a gold mine.

When flipping through Comcast’s music channel I’m always amazed to see the massive crowds going nuts over who’s ever on stage making what I consider to be little more than loud noise. To name a few, I’m into artists like Phil Roy, Amos Lee, Mark Cohn, David Gray, Keb’ Mo’ and Randy Newman.

Feel free to call me crazy, but my music collection includes no music from famous privileged groups that toured the world opening spending millions of dollars to support their drug habit while the authorities looked the other way.

For classic rock lovers that are looking to branch out, one of the best places to start is internet station Radio Paradise.

My other favorite internet station to help broaden musical horizons from a broader roots music perspective other than rock is WWOZ in New Orleans. THis station knows what American roots music is all about!

With artists like Kanye West becoming the self-proclaimed "voice of a generation", I would look to earlier more creative times for inspiration if I were a member of today's younger generation. The interesting part of this thread to me is not the lack of new good music, but the method of distribution seems to be what has changed the most. The internet, giant corporate radio, no more record stores, and economic reality have all contributed to the changing music industry. A lot of bands make the majority of their income from touring rather than selling albums these days. There are some great ideas in the above recommendations and I think that you are on the right track in your efforts to diversify genres. Blues, reggae, bluegrass, Cajun, and old fashioned rock and roll still are being created. you just have to look a little harder to find it. Publications, blogs, festivals, internet radio, youtube, and the web in general are the main sources of new music today.