How does one (grow) as a music listener/lover?

@bdp24 +1

See live shows. 

Live music ( is better bumper stickers should be issued)
make your own recordings
make friends with people who listen to stuff you don’t ( yet)
mix sound for a band
wander the halls at prep school, borrow strange LP’s
take a music appreciation and then theory class
read books about music ( David Byrnes is great)
stream to dip your toe in
keep a list of stuff others like
see streaming to taste, 3+ million albums on Tidal
ask people for top 20 lists
see the thread here what’s in your CD player tonite
haunt the thrift shops, anything looks good At $.99
read the music lists for best of 20xx and of course peruse the mainline audio rags for music reviews
go to the pre concert lectures.

@tomic601 +1 for sure! All sources bring new aspects to music!!

What a wonderful question! I don't think there are right or wrong answers to it. Mentioned by others was the benefit of having a subscription to a concert series; for me that would be season tickets to the symphony, and I do think that is very important. However, that does limit you in terms of genre. For that reason, I think even higher on the list would be to keep company with others who love music and to listen together, sharing your favorites with each other. Whenever I have the opportunity to listen deliberately with others, I inevitably discover something I had never heard before which I then seek out and add to my own collection.