Why does most new music suck?

Have to disagree. I remember back in the 1970s when the same question was being asked. Now people generally look back on the 1970s and recognize that a lot of great (rock, R&B, fusion, reggae) music was produced. Maybe in another 20 years most of the music from that era will sound really dated and fall out of fashion. I think our perception of what is "good" is malleable and often new music is disparaged as noise and then appreciated more and more as time goes on.

And then there's the age issue, people will go through life strongly identifying with the music they listened to as they came of age. Older people may not like rap, but it may be viewed as great music in coming decades. It has already infiltrated other genres (like country) and there are interesting and melodic rap-influenced rock bands where musicians are back to playing real instruments. New acoustic bands like Mumford and Sons seem to be incredibly influential if the number of imitators are any indication.

In the past few days I've listened to Jack White's "Blunderbuss," a couple of albums by Wilco, two Drive-By Truckers records, the latest from Ryan Adams. All of these artists have been around for a decade or more, but all are making new -- and very interesting -- music.
-- Howard

Generation to generation has had the same complaint. What did we hear about Elvis, The Beatles, The Doors, ..... ? Fill in the blank. What did folks say when punk, new wave, etc. hit? The generation of today finds plenty to explore, enjoy, and relate to. I have been introduced to a lot of interesting artists from my children, and yet I still prefer the music from a certain era, but that doesn't negate the quality artists who are out there today. And yes, I did used to walk to school on fence posts in the snow!

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.