Folks bought me a CRAIG all-in-one in 1974 or so. Turntable, 8-track, and tuner. It made music and drove a pair of Koss headphones to my liking.
A couple of buddies were CB geeks. It was a big thing back then. They also had real stereos, so I was exposed to better gear early on.
Then in college it was crazy. Guys exiting the service and coming back from overseas with all the cool Japanese gear (it wasn't vintage back then...). I was also exposed to real blues and jazz in college.