I was born in 1958 and even though the Beatles were big in the 1960s, I really didn't experience Beatlemania. I didn't even really understand it until I saw the movie/documentary Eight Days a Week.
I agree with the OP because there is a difference between hearing and appreciating the music and experiencing the music at the time.
For example, for me, I liked music in the 60s and 70s but really came to love music in the last half of the 70s. I was taken by the new music of Television, The Ramones, Talking Heads etc. That music was so different from most things before it.
If you listen to the Talking Heads' first album, "77, now, it sounds interesting but not revolutionary as it did when it was released. Same for Gang of Four's Entertainment. It has to do with the evolution of music and the times involved whether it was the Cold War or Reagan eras.