I feel bad for Generation X and The Millennial's

@kota1 …”As for any "best era" of anything that just means you are stuck in that era. Nothing wrong with that but fresh stuff is good too.”

+1

Growing up through your twenties is a time of maximum hormones and emotional experience / development. Music pairs with the emotional experiences / people and  gets deeply ingrained in your psychology. It brings back memories… which are usually beter in retrospect.

I am grateful that I grew up in an era where "progressive rock" exploded and muscle cars ruled the streets. With the advent of 8-track you could bang through the gears with your Hurst shifter while simultaneously switching tracks on your Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels tape. So much fun.

But, I think it is a stretch to assume that later generations don’t seek out and find life experiences that are intellectually and emotional stimulating. They’re just not resonating with, or 100% engaged with the same things we were. It doesn’t mean that life is not offering them generous rewards, and their not pursuing them.

In my teenage years (1960’s) when you got out of school, you either a) did sports, b) had a job to get to, or c) hung out with your friends. The choices to occupy disposable time were pretty limited at the time and a lot of guys and gals grabbed their instruments and headed to someone’s garage. Someone’s parents kindly gave permission for a bunch of kids to make noise in the most acoustically isolated setting economically feasible -- the garage. And, they played and practiced for hours .. and. hours. and .hours. And, some of them got pretty good at it. Epic bands emerged that motivated us to tattoo their names on our skin, set the mood for romantic interludes, or got us so devoted to their craft that we would drive hundreds of miles to campout, and give several day’s pay to see them play. To me, the story is not about the greatest of the great, it’s the sheer number of GREAT bands that emerged from this time period. I particularly appreciate the "one hit wonders" where all the stars lined up on that fateful day and each and every member of the band reached deep inside and produced the best performance of their lifetimes. IMHO, I don’t think we’ll ever see the level of humanity and commitment to creating music as we did in the 60’s and 70’s.

But we can show our gratitude without taking anything away from those who follow. Just become it was important to us, don’t mean it is important to them. I thought the "right of passage to manhood" was to share the experience of a smoky burnout in my hot rod with my 10-year-old grandson. What I thought would be a bonding experience was absolutely terrifying for him. Yes, I did create a memory that will last a lifetime. Just not the one we wanted.

This reminds me of some of the discussions I have had recently with my 12 yr old son about music. He wonders why I don't care for his music and I have been honest in telling him that it is normal for older generations to not like the music of newer ones. However, in this case it isn't even about that for me. I actually do listen to rap (along with just about everything else). He listens to artists like Tech N9ne and Huice WRLD. I just happen to find much of their work to be choppy and crass. I like music that flows and often these songs stop and stutter or outright change tempo in the middle...and not in a way like Stairway to Heaven. To me it is jarring. And what they talk about in the songs, as a parent, I don't believe are the best. I acknowledge that for a long time songs have talked about drugs, sex, etc. but they used to use more metaphors or at least other wor for things. Some of this new stuff, is very direct about it. This includes artists that I do like such as Cardi B. I just wish they would tone that stuff down and I freely acknowledge that is my being an old fuddy duddy. We also need to accept there has always been what we consider good music produced and not so good. The good stuff stands the test of time and is popular 40 yrs later. The crap is mostly forgotten. 

As for the medium, I think we are in a golden age for access. You can still use cd's or LP's if you like them. Heck, vinyl has had a huge resurgence and many of these new artists are releasing new work in that format.  I have purchased several records for my son and some for myself from artists like Syml. And streaming is a complete game changer. Not only can I access amounts of music that I know depending on what strikes my fancy but have had opportunity to experience new artists like Dotan and Anette Askvik that I likely never would have before. This is great for the music business as well as us listeners.

Now, as for the hardware, that is just part of people's ages and what they had access to. My parents never had a hifi system really. So growing up I listened on clock radios, little transistor radios, and eventually little boom boxes. Eventually it transitioned to Walkmans and Discmans. I now have a fairly decent setup with preamp/dac, amp, and so forth.  It has continued to get better through the years as my understanding of the music, and my expectations of it, have evolved. I have also gotten to a point where I can afford nicer equipment.  Let's not come down on the 16 yr old listening to music on their phone or Echo device. They are using what they have. Instead, let's celebrate the fact they are listening to music. We should be helping cultivate that interest and open doors to them for what is possible. 

A shame you never grew up. Music composition and instrument virtuosity sure did. I'm sure the newer generations will never miss you're condescending attitude.