How eclectic is your taste in music?

For me, music is an important part of life, a way to relax and unwind, cheer up, get aesthetic pleasure. But I always listen to different music, rock, pop, classics, it all depends on the mood. It happens that I don’t listen to music for a couple of days, just because I don’t want to.

+1 @edcyn

On a scale of 1-10 I am 10.   Will listen to anything at least once.

When I was younger, music appeared to be an enormous playground awaiting exploration. 

As I've aged, however, it's become very evident that the size of the playground is somewhat of a moot point, given the fact that my capacity for approaching and appreciating unfamiliar music is not only a significantly limiting factor but deeply ingrained. The origin/foundation of aesthetic preference is mysterious, whether we're talking music, food, poetry, dogs, cars, furniture or sexual partners. I watched a video yesterday by a guy who loves canned mackeral sandwiches. . .  but even more than mackeral sandwiches, he loves the bones, which he sets aside and hordes as a special treat. What's normal to him appears bizarre from my perspective. And no doubt, vice versa. 

I'd like to be able to assert that I'm open to anything but it's simply not true. The fact is, I avoid entire genres. 

I suppose what it comes down to is, I'd simply rather spend my listening time playing stuff I know will give me the maximum of pleasure.

This doesn't mean I've stopped discovering artists I like, however. It just means I tend to look for them in genres I already enjoy.

This is an interesting subject for me.

To begin with, there have been several good studies that show, that the vast majority of people’s tastes in music are set by the time they are 30. People listen to the music that was their favorite when they were between the age of about 14 and their mid 20’s, with a bit more new music for a few more years.

I have been told by some, that I have eclectic tastes, and by others, that I am closed minded. I am in my early 60’s, to give some context. And I am always in the hunt for new music.

My issue is, I only enjoy music that has most of the following attributes: very high level of musicianship, complexity, broad range of emotional content, (usually) long form structure, does not follow verse>chorus>bridge>repeat format.

Music that does not have the above, tends to bore me. I can’t force myself to enjoy music that does not fit the parameters I like in music.

Music genres and subgenres that fit my parameters, are:

Jazz (fusion, post-bop, jazz-metal, chamber-jazz, M-Base, avant-garde)
Classical (mostly post mid 20th century, avant-garde, contemporary, some minimalism, spectralism, serialism)
Prog (avant-prog, technical-metal, Zeuhl, classic era, prog-metal)

I can easily go from listening to Mahavishnu Orchestra (fusion), to Arnold Schoenberg (12 tone classical), to The Contortionist (technical-metal), to Univers Zero (avant-garde prog) in the same listening session.

I also have a bit of a growing interest in blue grass, and Indian classical music.

I am willing to listen to pretty much any genre of music with an open mind, but if it doesn’t have the above listed attributes, chances are I won’t enjoy it.

I have pretty much no interest in: pop, mainstream rock, rap, hip-hop, country, blues.