Well, I pretty much listened to what my parents listened to. My mom was into Elton John, pop music, and pop/rock bands like Foreigner and .38 Special, and she was a Guns N’ Roses stan. My dad was into hard rock and heavy metal, and he made us sit through album after album of solo guitarists. Both of them shared a love for Black Sabbath, Rush, UFO, and Deep Purple, so those are the bands I think of when I think of my childhood.

When I was ~8, I was in love with Hilary Duff, but that was more because my friend was in love with her.

When I was 10, my dad played Unleashed in the East by Judas Priest and I was completely blown away. That album changed my life. It changed everything about me. I stole the CD from my dad (only time I’ve ever stolen from him) and spun it into the ground. At the same time, urban was really popular in my elementary school, so I loved urban-pop. And my sister was obsessed with ABBA, Iron Maiden, and Blackmore’s Night, so I was starting to get into them.

When I was 12, I took a break from music until I discovered Carrie Underwood, who was performing Flat On The Floor and All-American Girl on some late night show. I adored the latter song in particular and listened to it on repeat. As times got tougher, I started distracting myself with Carrie’s catalog and soon I knew all of her songs. She also got me into country music in general (since I had a predominantly rock background). I wouldn’t say country is my favorite genre, but it’s a solid second place to rock.

Anyway, after that, I kinda took off. My progression from there was Carrie Underwood -> Iron Maiden -> Bruce Dickinson (solo) -> Guns N’ Roses -> Jeff Buckley. Today, I’m actually on a major Bruce Springsteen binge. It’s looking more and more like he’s becoming my next favorite. D:

Awesome to see all the GN’R love, btw. :)

Then, I started getting into country around 12-13. “I Hope You Dance” was the first country song (and album), I fell in love with.

From there, I discovered Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Brooks And Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans, SheDaisy, etc.

Now, I don’t listen to Toby Keith or Leeann Womack, but other than that, my tastes have stayed consistent. I’m a little more into both newer and older country, now. I’m not into pop music at all anymore, except Adele, Christina, Mariah and Whitney. I like a lot of old classics, especially Christmas songs, for some reason.

I’ve recently gotten really into rock, which is not a genre I grew up with, aside from what my Dad calls “old people rock” (Springsteen, Stewart, etc.)

Appetite For Destruction is one of my favorite albums ever. Such a classic.

When my parents were together, I mainly heard adult contemporary stuff.

So of my favorites back then were “Pictures Of You” by The Last Goodnight and “Calling You” by Blue October.

A few years later I was hooked on country.

Mainly Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. My first albums were:

Gloriana, “Gloriana”
Kenny Chesney, “Greatest Hits ll”
Taylor Swift, “Fearless: Platinum Edition”
Zac Brown Band, “The Foundation”

My favorite artists right now are Brad Paisley, ZBB, Eric Church and Jason Aldean.

Some of my recently bought albums are:

Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
Jerrod Niemann, “Free The Music”
Luke Bryan, “Tailgates And Tanlines”
Taylor Swift, “Speak Now”
Justin Moore, “Outlaws Like Me”
Terri Clark, “Classic”

And my all-time favorite song is “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean.

-MM

Just as I was nearing my teens Rock n’ Roll burst on the scene and I was hooked on Billy Haley and his Comets, Little Richard and of course, Elvis.

The Beatles arrived my senior year, I am a huge Motown fan.

Over the years I’ve watched all the developments and new technologies that have changed face of music in all the “genres”.

I’ve always followed the “charts” and have a huge collection, I’ve every different format of music from 78RPM to CD’s and now I use iTunes as well.

The new country IMHO is akin to the soft rock of the 1970′s.

I’ve often made note of an Alan Jackson quote from and award show several years back, when he said something to the effect of “Not every song should sound like Hank Williams, but once in a while it would be nice to hear some that do”

Thanks to my parents and grandparents, I’m well versed in the oldies (20s-60s). I still love them and, to a certain extent, nothing will ever beat them. I was also introduced to musical theatre at a young age and have nearly every Broadway soundtrack. Dorky, I know, but I still love them. Same with a lot of classical music. I still love the symphony – gotta love Sousa marches and some Rachmaninov.

Each decade I acquire new artists, but I still love the old ones. I started listening to country in junior high. I can’t say my tastes have changed, only what’s on the radio. Bluegrass is a relatively new love for me, but I have a feeling if I had been exposed to it at an earlier age, I would have loved it. I’ve always been drawn to anything with strong instrumentation.