I'm bored right now so I thought I'd do this. I'll start with some of the first songs I ever knew and liked when I was *really* little in the mid '80s, which have remained favorites of mine all through the years. These were pretty much from scattered memories of what was on the radio, or albums my parents bought at the time (moreso my mom):

anything from Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down (esp "All Night Long" and "Penny Lover")
Wrapped Around Your Finger - The Police
Lucky Star - Madonna
The Power of Love - Huey Lewis
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Shake it Up - The Cars
Take on Me - A ha
Sussudio - Phil Collins
Self Control - Laura Branigan
Missing You - John Waite
We Don't Need Another Herp - Tina Turner
You're the Inspiration - Chicago
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Lawyers in Love - Jackson Browne
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
I Wanna Know What Love is - Forienger
Caribbean Queen - Billy Ocean
Can't Fight this Feeling - REO Speedwagon
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

Now I'll move onto stuff I liked when I was in early elementary school (like 1987 to '90), lots of these songs were on family mixtapes of ours, which makes them even more special in my memory. This is also the first time I have something of a clear, detailed memory of what was going on.

Down Under - Men At Work
I Heard a Rumor - Bananarama
Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne
Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
most Hall and Oates, especially "Out of Touch", "Maneater", "Kiss on My List" and "One on One"
Stone Love - Kool and the Gnag
Don't Dream it's Over - Crowded House
King of Wishful Thinking - Go West
Alone - Heart
Rock Steady - The Whispers
Foolish Heart - Steve Perry
When I Think of You - Janet Jackson
You Ate the Girl - The Cars
When the Going Gets Tough - Billy Ocean
Invisible Touch - Genesis
Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us - Starship
Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
Make it Real - The Jets
Second Chance - 38 Special
Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley
Refugee - Tom Petty
Waiting for a Star to Fall - Boy Meets Girl
Make Me Lose Control - Eric Carmen
U Can't Touch This - Hammer
The Finer Things - Steve Winwood
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
You Are - Lionel Richie
Every Little Kiss - Bruce Hornsby
Don't Get Me Wrong - The Pretenders
Everlasting Love - Howard Jones

Now I'll get to I guess I'd call the VH1/starting to buy music years lol. This was when I was in later elementary school in like 1991-1994, but it was still part of my childhood, so the sentimental value is totally powerful. Again this is both current and older stuff, since it's all a part of what I was listening to (like I discovered some older songs for the first time around then).

any Paula Abdul, especially "Rush Rush", "Cold Hearted", "Opposites Attract" and "Vibeology" and "Forever Your Girl" and "Blowing Kisses in the Wind"
Jump - Van Halen
Sunglasses at Night - Corey Hart
ALL Weird Al up to that point
Come as You Are - Nirvana
How Do You Talk to an Angel - The Heights
Everything Changes - Kathy Trocoli
Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Everything About You - Ugly Kid Joe
I Can Dream About You - Dan Hartman
Lets Get Rocked - Def Leppard
Hold on - Wilson Philips
I Swear - All 4 One
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Let's Hear it for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker
True - Spandau Ballet
Some Guys Have all the Luck -Rod Stewart
Kyrie - Mr Mister
Dude Looks Like a Lady - Aerosmith
Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
I'll be Alright without You - Journey
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong - Spin Doctors
The Sign - Ace of Base
Rosanna - Toto
Under the Bridge - RHCP
Everybody Plays the Fool - Aaron Neville
Every Heartbeat - Amy Grant
The Flame - Cheap Trick


Whoa that's alot of listing! ;D Anyway, after all of this I pretty much stayed the same for a few years. I was sorta stuck in 1994 until the late '90s (i.e. continuing to just like what I already knew, and the newer songs I liked were generally the inoffensive pop stuff). When I was about halfway through high school, I got more receptive to music I may have kinda not known about or given a chance before (through friends who liked it), such as punk and heavy metal.

That's a great list of songs Marty. I actually like quite a few of those myself ;)

I have pretty much liked the same general types of songs over the years, but there have been a few changes. As a really little kid in the late '80s and part of the early '90s, I didn't really get into any music other than little kids stuff of that era. The first actual songs I even remember liking were the songs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out with when they went on "tour" and released an "album" around 1990 or so.

From around 1993 to about 1997(the majority of my elementary school days)I mostly listened whatever my parents listened to, which was mostly '80s music and some country, and liked some of those songs("Billie Jean" by MJ, "Running On Empty" by Jackson Browne,  and "Shameless" by Garth Brooks are some of my favorites from then). I also did like a few songs that were popular at that time like "Breakfast At Tiffany's", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Champaign Supernova", "The Sign", and a few others like that.

From 1998 to 2001 or so(my first year of middle school to my first year of high school), I was pretty much into everything that was popular at that time. Some rap, pop, and even Nu Metal. I have quite a few songs from that era that I still like even to this day:

"Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker, "Angel" by Shaggy, "Superman(It's Not Easy)" by Five For Fighting, "Drops Of Jupiter" and "Meet Virginia" by Train, "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "In The End" by Linkin Park, and "All Star" by Smash Mouth are my biggest favorites.

I went through a period where I listened to more classic rock a couple of years ago, but from about 2004 on I have pretty much listened to the songs that I liked back in the late '90s with a couple of new songs sprinkled in.

Got into popular music in my early teens and my taste haven't changed that much. Started listening to  some alternative, 80's pop/rock (from '80's requesdt hours), and old school hip hop. Now pretty much anything that catches my interest...

I liked oldies as a child, which heard from movies, tv shows, California Raisens etc.  8)

I used to be into "pop" now I've gotten into some World music.  Enya, Gaelic Storm, The Quarrymen.  I've listen to Gregorian Chants, Steven Foster.  Every once in awhile I'll listen to metal.

I have extremely varied music these days. Prior to late 2004 I listened to mostly to whatever top 40 hits I enjoyed (Beyonce, Three Doors Down, Maroon 5, Jennifer Lopez, Pink, etc.), since then I've worked to expand my listening more and more. Basically right now I listen to various alternative rock and r&b, some metal and classic stuff occasionally as well.  :)

Sample playlist:

Tribulations - LCD Soundsystem
One - Metallica
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Killing In The Name - Rage Against the Machine
Hysteria - Muse
Mr. Brightside - Killers
Lithium - Nirvana
Outshined - Soundgarden
Weak - SWV
Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
Hella Good - No Doubt
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
Schism - Tool
Try Again - Aaliyah
Red Light Special - TLC
I Should Have Cheated - Keyshia Cole
Stupid Girl - Garbage
Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
Dancing Queen - ABBA
Cool - Gwen Stefani
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Float On - Modest Mouse
Closer - Nine Inch Nails
Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
All That She Wants - Ace of Base
The Heinrich Maneuver - Interpol
Luv - Janet
Afraid - Nelly Furtado
20 Dollar - M.I.A.
The Widow - Mars Volta
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Stranger In My House - Tamia
It Feels So Good - Sonique
Maria Maria - Santana
3s & 7s - Queens of the Stone Age
Back In Your Head - Tegan and Sara
Rusty Cage - Soundgarden
I Turn To You - Christina Aguilera
No One - Alicia Keys
Oops (Oh My) - Tweet & Missy Elliott
Lovesong - The Cure
The Way I Are - Timbaland & Keri Hilson
Dare - Gorillaz
Only U - Ashanti

When I first stated listening to music I was into Big Band, my father's favorite, I was about 7 or 8
at the time. As I grew older my taste evolved, I still like a lot of brass but it was in the form of funk,
Fire by theThe Ohio Players was the first album I ever bought. I quickly got over that phase and by
1976, at 14 yrs. of age, I turned into a progressive rock fan. I spent my days listening to the likes of
ELP, Yes, Tull. By the 80's though, even the great bands of the 70's were turning out bad music so
my taste head into the Heavy Metal realm. Iron Maiden, Queensryche and King Diamond were constantly
on the turntable. Now my taste is still Heavy Metal but it's more Symphonic/ Goth Metal.

I still listen to Big Band, Funk, Classical and Prog Rock but Metal is where it's at for me.

As a kid in the 80s, I listened to the music that was popular at the time.  As the 90s came, I got into those early 90s pop songs.  When music started to change with grunge, and rap, I turned to techno and dance music because it was my way to escape back to the 80s when music was catchy. 

Nowadays, I mainly listen to techno and those 80s classics.  They never get old, and I will always love them :)

Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Great song. 

Here is the progression of my eclectic musical tastes:
Late 80's - Middle School (mainstream stuff)
Mainstream Pop, Rock, Freestyle, Hip Hop, Hair Bands
(Janet Jackson, U2, Red Hot Chiliis, Guns N Roses, Public Enemy, Stevie B, Cover Girls)

Early 90's - High School (self discovery)
Grunge, Alternative, Mainstream Pop, Hip Hop, some 70's/80's
(Madonna, Pearl Jam, Early Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, Billy Joel)

Mid 90's - Rebellion and Frustration with mainstream
Rock, Hard Rock, Ska, Trance
(Sublime, 311, Cake, No Doubt, Less Than Jake, Early Metallica, Korn, Moby)

Late 90's - Emergence of new music
Trip Hop, Trance, (Alternative) Rock, 70's Punk
(Massive Attack, Portishead, Spiritualized, Paul Oakenfold, Chicane, BT, The Clash, Sex Pistols)

Early 00's - Things Slow Down A Bit
ALOT of 70's, Beatles Catalog, Light Trance, Rock, Chillout, Latin, Rock En Espanol, Jazz, Flamenco
(Air, Orbital, Chicane, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Dylan, The Who, Sting, David Sylvian, Coldplay, Radiohead, Pink Martini, Shakira, Thalia, Keiko Matsui, Ottmar Liebert)

Current - Everything and Anything with an affinity for 80's New Wave
Trance, ALL 80's, 80's New Wave, 80's ItaloDisco, 60's French Pop, Brazillian Samba/Bossa, Latin, Rock
(Aha (My Favorite), Midlake, Shapeshifters, Freemasons, Axwell, Japan, Duran Duran, Dire Straits, Roxy Music, CC Catch, Dalida, Elis Regina, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66)

That's a great list of songs Marty. I actually like quite a few of those myself ;)

I have pretty much liked the same general types of songs over the years, but there have been a few changes. As a really little kid in the late '80s and part of the early '90s, I didn't really get into any music other than little kids stuff of that era. The first actual songs I even remember liking were the songs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out with when they went on "tour" and released an "album" around 1990 or so.

From around 1993 to about 1997(the majority of my elementary school days)I mostly listened whatever my parents listened to, which was mostly '80s music and some country, and liked some of those songs("Billie Jean" by MJ, "Running On Empty" by Jackson Browne,  and "Shameless" by Garth Brooks are some of my favorites from then). I also did like a few songs that were popular at that time like "Breakfast At Tiffany's", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Champaign Supernova", "The Sign", and a few others like that.

From 1998 to 2001 or so(my first year of middle school to my first year of high school), I was pretty much into everything that was popular at that time. Some rap, pop, and even Nu Metal. I have quite a few songs from that era that I still like even to this day:

"Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker, "Angel" by Shaggy, "Superman(It's Not Easy)" by Five For Fighting, "Drops Of Jupiter" and "Meet Virginia" by Train, "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "In The End" by Linkin Park, and "All Star" by Smash Mouth are my biggest favorites.

I went through a period where I listened to more classic rock a couple of years ago, but from about 2004 on I have pretty much listened to the songs that I liked back in the late '90s with a couple of new songs sprinkled in.

Oh right on, I like alot of those songs you listed too. Speaking of TMNT, I played the arcade game around then too, and even remember that "Turtle Power" theme song! ;)

Although my tastes were a little frozen around the mid-late 90s, I should say I liked some amounts of alternative pop and rock as it was coming out, like Alanis Morisette, SmashMouth, "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins, Collective Soul, etc. There were also just some general pop ballads I liked right away, remember "Insensitive" by Jann Arden? I was also a big Sheryl Crow fan, her music reminds me of my first after-school job (I did assistant janitorial work and they usually had the alternative or pop stations on the radio).



As a general note - doesn't it seem like regardless of the generation, kids who either have hip and cooler parents (as mine were), older siblings/friends and maybe even babysitters, tend to be more into music, movies, fashion and other things as they're growing up? I think the amount of exposure you have to things can really make a difference in how you feel about it.

Like, people who don't start getting into things until their teen years might be more prone to ripping on stuff from their childhood (from 5 or 10 years before), just because their only context of knowing about might be from their peers dissing it. When you're in middle and high school, usually your friends are the biggest influence for your tastes. Whereas, when you're a kid it can be from anything, so you're usually a bit more nondiscriminating.

I liked some "out of time" stuff as a kid (as well as current too, of course), but honestly never gave it a thought either way. Even if I knew something was older, it never registered to me that was unusual. All I cared was that it appealed to me. When I was, let's say 10 years old I started renting movies when my parents went to video stores (the Ernest movies were some of the first ones I got into). Most of them were '80s and they were still "new enough" to be in people's minds, but I could've cared less that they were several years old. Same with music I watched on VH1.

A 13 or 14 year old might say something like "ewww this is lame and old", but me being younger, I actually was much more easygoing and carefree about that! By the time I was that age, my tastes were set enough to where it didn't matter to me, lol. Does that make sense?

Great topic!  :) :) :)

Early elementary school years - pretty much anything I heard on the radio, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Bananarama, Duran Duran, The Police, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Prince, etc...

Late elementary school years - Still Top 40 radio, but began to add heavy metal/hard rock to the list. Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Metallica, Def Leppard, etc....

Junior high school - Extremely varied, Top 40, dance pop, soft rock, lots of 80's nostalgia, grunge/alternative rock. This was also the time period that I also really got into Latin pop (Yuri, Lucero, early Ricky Martin, Luis Miguel, Thalia, etc...)

High school - Pretty much the same. More Top 40, alternative rock, soft rock, dance, Latin pop.

After high school to present - Nostalgia, nostalgia, and even more nostalgia!  :D :D

^ Thanks. :)

Yeah, I actually had a similar pattern as far as heavier stuff. When I was a kid and early teen, I thought most heavy metal was loud and scary noise, lol. Even though I liked a huge variety, it was mostly top 40 and didn't really get any harder than something like Van Halen and Bon Jovi (and even then it was their pop songs, like "Jump").

I started getting receptive to more hair metal and even stuff like Metallica when I was about 17. I had one friend in high school who was into punk (both new and older) like The Offspring, Clash and Social Distortion, he kinda got me into that too.

Yeah I think I've been a nostalgic since about 1999 or 2000 (I was before too, but just in pockets). That's when it became more of an obession, since there were less new songs I found myself liking. Even today I still like some, but not as much as I did from like before the late 90s.

Early 80s - kinda new wave'ish pop... Culture Club, Howard Jones

Mid 80s - Rnb pop soul... Five Star, The Jets, Debarge, Atlantic Starr (these became my staples throughout life)

Late 80s - Teen pop... Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue, Paula Abdul

Early 90s - Very mixed... indie, pop and dance... Charlatans, Black Box, Soul II Soul, Inspiral Carpets, Karyn White

Mid 90s - New Jack Swing... Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown

Late 90s - Underground house / dance and general pop soul like Toni Braxton, Brandy

Early 00s - Chart music in general and then getting into my nostalgic phase

Mid 00s - Full on retro invasion with other current stuff like John Mayer, James Morrison, Nick Lachey

Hmm...let me think here.

Elementary school years: mostly listened to whatever my mom listened too.  This meant listening to lots of 80s music (including developing an affinity for the hair bands) and 90s rock music on the radio.  My mom also had MTV on every morning (when they still played videos in the morning) all the way up until 2001 or so, so I got exposed to a lot of music that way.  My favorite band was Van Halen and I lived a hybrid half 80s, half 90s existence.

7th-8th grade: the worst years of my life.  To be honest, I just continued to listen to what I always listened to, but with the occasional 00s rock band like Linkin Park (I think every 00s 8th grader has liked them at some point).  On my school bus, the kids got to pick what station we listened to and they chose the Rap station.  This results in a hatred of mainstream Rap music.  I was actually isolated from mainstream Top 40 music for a bit in these years, so I don't have much nostalgia for it.

9th grade: I finally begin to get into music as a late bloomer.  I especially get into 90s Alternative Rock, specifically the Grunge scene.  I also begin to listen to more modern rock bands, as well as expanding my taste in general.  I still hated Rap, but there were some guilty pleasures like Usher's "Yeah!" and most of Kanye West's songs.  I come out of music isolation with regards to the mainstream.

10th-12th grade: Went from overwhelmingly 90s Rock (with some 00s Rock) to a healthy balance of 90s and 00s Rock.  In 12th grade though, I went from a balance to overwhelming listening to 00s Rock.  My life vastly improved during this time (after an average 9th grade), so I share a lot of good memories with this time period.  I actually like a lot of the Top 40 music from these years, especially from 12th grade (2006-2007) as Rap music started to decline in chart dominance at that time (although it looks like it has made a bit of a comeback recently).  Found out there is good Rap music in the form of non-mainstream Rap and listen to spurts of Indie Rock.

College (so far): Listened mostly to modern 00s rock at first, but am starting to find a balance again.  I'm getting into some Progressive Rock, delving a bit more into Indie Rock, and have recently developed an big affinity for Classic Rock.  I start listening to more good non-mainstream Rap (although Common and Lupe Fiasco have recently had some chart success).  Nostalgia hit me hard and I found myself listening to a lot of great late 90s songs of all genres for awhile in addition to all my other stuff.

As far as the mainstream goes, I liked it for the first several months of college, but I now find myself slowly listening to it less and less and not turning to the Top 40 station as much.  I still like some of it and try to keep up on things, but I'm slowly losing touch.  I guess now that I'm out of high school, the need to be "in the know" with the mainstream had decreased.  How strange that I would find myself losing interest in Top 40 music when I was loving it a year ago.  

Oh right on, I like alot of those songs you listed too. Speaking of TMNT, I played the arcade game around then too, and even remember that "Turtle Power" theme song! ;)

Although my tastes were a little frozen around the mid-late 90s, I should say I liked some amounts of alternative pop and rock as it was coming out, like Alanis Morisette, SmashMouth, "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins, Collective Soul, etc. There were also just some general pop ballads I liked right away, remember "Insensitive" by Jann Arden? I was also a big Sheryl Crow fan, her music reminds me of my first after-school job (I did assistant janitorial work and they usually had the alternative or pop stations on the radio).



As a general note - doesn't it seem like regardless of the generation, kids who either have hip and cooler parents (as mine were), older siblings/friends and maybe even babysitters, tend to be more into music, movies, fashion and other things as they're growing up? I think the amount of exposure you have to things can really make a difference in how you feel about it.

Like, people who don't start getting into things until their teen years might be more prone to ripping on stuff from their childhood (from 5 or 10 years before), just because their only context of knowing about might be from their peers dissing it. When you're in middle and high school, usually your friends are the biggest influence for your tastes. Whereas, when you're a kid it can be from anything, so you're usually a bit more nondiscriminating.

I liked some "out of time" stuff as a kid (as well as current too, of course), but honestly never gave it a thought either way. Even if I knew something was older, it never registered to me that was unusual. All I cared was that it appealed to me. When I was, let's say 10 years old I started renting movies when my parents went to video stores (the Ernest movies were some of the first ones I got into). Most of them were '80s and they were still "new enough" to be in people's minds, but I could've cared less that they were several years old. Same with music I watched on VH1.

A 13 or 14 year old might say something like "ewww this is lame and old", but me being younger, I actually was much more easygoing and carefree about that! By the time I was that age, my tastes were set enough to where it didn't matter to me, lol. Does that make sense?



That's a great point. It would probably depend on how much you were exposed to it as a kid. I've always sort of included the later part of the '80s(maybe from 1986 on) as part of my "time" in an extended form, at least musically. My parents listened to alot of those songs when I was growing up, so when I hear a song like "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" It still makes me nostalgic for my childhood just as it might to somebody that was 10 in 1988, even though I was hearing it a couple of years after it came out.

I totally understand how you could be nostalgic over a song from the mid '80s, even if you were only 3 or 4 at the time. I even get nostalgic listening to some '70s songs my parents used to listen to when I was little, and some of those came out a decade before I was born.

more than noticing my music trends I notice how songs I used to like I can no longer stand...

Lionel Richie  comes to mind because you mentioned him in the initial post.
Also Whitney Houston.... except for two or three songs I'm not really a fan

I was in a music store in LA this week and I had to walk out because the music was so loud...
It made me feel angry and then once I got outside I just felt old. I remember looking at adults and wondering what they were complaining about when they listened to "current" music...now I get it.  :-\\


On a side note....I still totally love the Turtle Power Rap by Partners in Crime (or is it Kryme?)  yeah that song is one of my guilty pleasures...

and right now I am totally obsessed with Alicia Keys Like You'll Never See Me Again.... it feels like a throwback to Roberta Flack or something.

Age 7-9
-Jesus Christ Superstar
West Side Story
The Jackson Five's Greatest Hits
...plus early 70s AM gold.

Age 10 - 14
Alice Cooper
Black sabbath
Blue Oyster Cult
Angel
David Bowie
Edgar Winter
Mott the Hoople
Deep Purple
Led Zepplin

Age 15 - 16
Allman Brothers Band
Jimi Hendrix
Outlaws
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Foghat
Rainbow

Age 17-21
Return To Forever
Brand X
Dixie Dregs
Steely Dan
Gentle Giant
Bruford
UK
Jean Luc-Ponty
Mahavishnu Orchestra

Age 22 - 32

Til' Tuesday
Tears For Fears
Prefab Sprout
Thomas Dolby
Depeche Mode
Sting
Tribal Tech
Pat Metheny

Age 32 - current

Jazz, jazz, jazz
Classical
Avant garde stuff

When I was little, I didn't listen to current pop music much because my parents didn't.  I came along late in my parents' lives; they were both born in the late 40s and grew up with 50s music, so I listened to a lot of that.

Some songs I can remember liking back when I was about five or six years old (around 1988-89):

These Dreams by Heart (I know a lot of people hate that song but it's actually pretty nostalgic for me)
Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin (that was his name, right?)
The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston (I think that's what it's called)
Kokomo by the Beach Boys
Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx

In the early 90s, I only knew a pop song if it was really, really big.  I never really liked them all that much, and while kids in my class were going nuts over Kris Kross and New Kids on the Block and Vanilla Ice and whatnot, I was listening to stuff like Disney soundtracks. XD

In the mid 90s, I was listening to a lot of country because my mom had a thing against MTV and didn't like me listening to top 40 radio, but then I started listening to it anyway around 1996.  I started to get into alternative stuff like Alanis Morrisette and Oasis, but it didn't last long because my mom started to get mad at me.

Around 1997, the Christian music phase began.  I listened to stuff like dcTalk, the Newsboys, Five Iron Frenzy, etc.  In high school, I listened to pretty much the same stuff, but with some Japanese rock and anime music starting to sneak in, and also some punk rock and random 80s songs.

Nowadays, I don't really listen to Christian stuff anymore, but I listen to a ton of Japanese music and a lot of other random stuff.  If it's got a nice melody, chances are I'll listen to it.  I also went through a huge Coheed and Cambria phase from about 2004-2006.

Great topic!  Don't know if I'll be able to cover it all...

I was about 4 at the introduction of the Beatles, and at that young age I got swept up in the euphoria.  The fact of the Beatles cartoon and my love for it made me a Beatles fan at a very young age.  Shortly after, we discovered the pre-fab four, thus the Monkees were another early musical influence for me.  I also caught a little of show tunes, TV themes, other mid 60s pop and some great Motown in the course of things.

By the turn of the decade, I started to hear more appealing music from, of all sources, TV, and it perked my ears up.  I'd watch cartoons like the Archies, Josie & the Pussycats plus shows like the Partridge Family.  Being 9-10-11 at the time, I ate it up.

About 11, I quickly developed an independent interest in music, and although it was a more bubblegum taste (loved Partidge Family/Jackson 5/Osmonds etc.), listening to top 40 exposed me to many styles.  This probably cemented my taste.  Around that same time I discovered Soul/R&B/Funk, which I've always liked a lot.

My taste stayed pretty similar through the early-mid 70's but naturally matured and evolved.  By this time I got exposed to styles like Fusion Jazz, Progressive Rock, and Reggae.  All of these caught my attention.  But I still listened primarly to Top 40.

In the late 70s when I went away to college, my taste expanded in a major way.  A semi-Disco fan (although I still liked Top 40 and Rock), this is when I discovered nostalgia and also classical music.  Nostalgia really grabbed me, and I was particularly drawn to 60's Motown sounds and began collecting it.  Shortly afterwards my Beatles interest resurged, especially after Lennon's tragic death.

In the early 80's I developed a liking for New Wave and other 80's sounds, alongside my nostalgia and classic rock taste.  Throughout the 80's I continued to follow the hits, but with slowly decreasing interest, until by the end of the decade I was more into older music than what was current.

I remained mostly into nostalgia music in the 90's, particularly classic rock.  I also developed a strong interest in Contemporary Christian music in the 90's.

Not much different to say about the '00s.  I guess that's it.  :)

I don't listen to much '90's alternative anymore besides a few hit songs every now or then. Then again, I'm mostly a "Greatest Hits" type of person...  ::)

70's

Nothing quite yet.

Mid 80's

Pretty much anything pop related.

90's

AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Soungarden, Foo Fighters, and Barenaked Ladies

Now

Anything pretty much from the 80's, Electonica, Old School Rap, 70's music, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, some hard rock, Rush.....

I've always dug most 'pop' muzik since my existence began.  I really didn't get into music until 1983 when I discovered MTV and got my first boom box for Christmas that year.  In the early to mid-80's I was into a lot of the hard rock shtuff (Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, RATT, Twisted Sister, KISS etc.)  In 1985 I began listening to the Hot Mix radio show that featured DJ-mixed sets of popular Top 40 and R&B tunes of the time.  Over time they started to play House and Italo Disco trax so I got into that as well while still encompassing pop music. Late 80's I was into more progressive/alternative styles like The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order etc.  At the turn of the decade I had my first club gig at a teen club, spinning hip-hop and Top 40.

My family moved in 1991 and I discovered KDGE (The Edge) in Dallas, an alternative FM station.  I got into more alternative stuff like The Farm, Mock Turtles, Happy Mondays, Nirvana.  In 1992 my cousin sent me a tape of all these techno songs.  I hadn't heard anything like it.  Then right around the same time I discovered EdgeClub 94 and they were playing the same type of tracks that were on the tape.  That was the new dance/club sound at the time.  It eventually evolved into something a little more melodic than hoovers and spraycans  8) By the time I got to Raleigh NC I was over 21 and began going out and working at various venues in the area.  I played anyting from techno to hip-hop to Top 40 to 80's.

As I got my own internet mixshow I started out playing exclusively 80's dance music, but that has branched out some.  I'm not a huge fan of today's music overall.  I also go through phases as well, where I'll want to listen to a certain type of music.  Currently I'm keen on stuff from the early 90's, Edge-type trax. :)

Pretty much the same as I've always main difference being that I simply know more music now than I used to so I've just expanded what I like, pop/top 40 being what I listen to most. I'm of the opinion that meaningless carefree upbeat music is needed in this world. I like some rap though usually I prefer the more pop hip-hop type stuff. Country I don't listen to very much but I don't really hate it or anything. There's plenty of alternative rock or some metal that I like. Some of the classic rock I've warmed up to as well. Disco I also quite like sometimes.

If I showed the entire development, it would be a convoluted dendritic graph.  This is a cursory view:

Early childhood: No discrete preferences.
1979--1981: Early rock 'n roll/doo-wop/surf music/sixties bubblegum

1982--1985: Current top 40/new wave/synth pop/eighties bubblegum

1985--1988: New wave/alternative pop/industrial/ambient

1989--1993: Industrial/ambient/experimental/dub reggae/Celtic pop

1993--1997: Electronica/industrial/ambient/classical/dub reggae/experimental/jazz/ethnic

1998--2001: Electronica/electroacoustic/experimental/contemporary classical/free jazz/musique concrete/ethnic/avant-garde chamber music/minimalism/aleatoric music

2001--present: ibid.  I've been expanding and exploring the tastes I developed a decade ago while gaining more appreciation for more conventional-sounding modern era classical and jazz (without diminishing my passion for the far-out).

Future:  I hope to develop a better sense of Western classical music, jazz, and ethnic* music, particularly Gamelan, Indian classical, and African percussion music.

* I prefer the term "ethnic music" to "world music" because world music is associated with pop fusion.

I was born in 1992. The 90s were, in my opinion, the greatest and most diverse time for music.

At first I didn't really listen to anything, just what was on the radio when I was in the car.

Later I started avidly listening to the local hits station, 99.3 the Buzz. At that time, they would play dance and techno, which I was, and continue to be, in love with. I mean serious dance music, Real McCoy, Ace of Base, the real shizzle.

From there I would listen to whatever that station played, until, unforutunately, they gradually made a switch to rap, hip hop, and r&b. I lost my favorite radio station. I found my only pleasure in listening to 90s dance tapes and cds.

Eventually in 1998 I listened to the NOW CDs, which, up until they reached NOW #427, they were actually good.

2000, I was introduced to internet. I would look up stuff on google, always using the keywords 'Free listen to 90s dance music'. I would turn up results, but not enough for me, and the slow speed of Dial Up killed me.. I had to broaden my musical library.

In 2001, I started listening to the radio again, and I found that I enjoyed rap and hiphop. Well, at first, not so much enjoyed as listened to it because all the others kids in my class were. I was the classic suburban white boy into rap because it's popular. But then, around 2003, they started making hip hop beats inclusive of more synths, which brought me back to dance music. I could for the first time say that I genuinely liked hiphop music.

I started watching VH1 in 2004 once I got cable in my room. I got into many alternative rock bands, and also from there I also listened to some classic rock bands, and I had an obsession with Queen.

Obsession faded in 2005, I have high speed internet, and I decided to learn instruments. First I taught myself piano, next, after years of just breaking guitar strings for the hell of it, I bought myself a chord book and taught myself guitar. Play bass came with guitar, basically. Around 2006, I took up drums a bit, but focused on getting good at piano and guitar, so I could play some rock songs that I listened to.

In 2007 I wanted to record my music. I taught myself how to run elaborate multi-track recording programs, and eventually programming. I thought it was necessary, because around then was when I got really into industrial/dark techno music, and I wanted to create it.

2008 I started multiple bands for my multiple musical interests. Eventually it all came back to dance music.

2009, I create dance music, and mostly remixes, because I knew that this is the type of music I would always be into. I'd loved it when I was very young, and I still loved it now.

So that's pretty much it. =]

If anyone wants to hear some of my dance music,
My Electronica band-thing is at www.myspace.com/RemoteRaver
My solo dance remix project is at www.myspace.com/51Redstar

Damn, I covered pretty much everything. xD