When some of us were younger, our exposure to music was "controlled" by the media (radio,mostly) that introduced us to it. We liked what they played, and they played what they were paid to play, in many instances.
Naturally, the "college" FM stations were not governed by payola, so we were exposed to "newer" music by bands that these people liked--Dylan, Baez, King...and yes, Boston as well.
Today, with music literally "pouring" out of hundreds of sources into our many "devices," it is no longer "controlled" by a few record company owners or radio station people. Thus, we have a very egalitarian music scene that may be a bit too diverse for many of us to discover. Personally, I don't "stream" anything or DAC anything; I am an old fogey who listens to vinyl and some CD's, although I don't much care for the way they are compressed and mixed these days. Their dynamic range is better in some cases, but compression in the algorithms and chips removes every "x" bit, which I find to be rather unfortunate. This is not to say that in the day, music was not mixed down to sound good on a car radio, since it was. However, LP's were usually more dynamically complete.
As for "new" music, I have a young daughter who constantly exposes me to what she and her friends are listening to, and I have found some wonderful and some horrible "new" music just as we had "in the old days."
Unlike one poster who said he does not relate older music to his past, I LOVE living in the past sometimes and the old music is a wonderful gateway to enjoy those memories. What we used to call "soul music" is still terrific even if the lyrics are a bit saccharine. Our LIVES were saccharine back then, so "These Arms of Mine" and "Lonely Teardrops" remind me of dances at the Original Club or our school gym (actually the old Armory next door), and hearing The Crests do "Sixteen Candles" or "You Belong to Me" by the Duprees--pretty misogynistic lyrics, but still--reminds me of wonderful times in my teens. I would imagine that "Whoops, I Did it Again" (an AMAZING pop song) means a lot to those who were young when it was new.
So, I have it BOTH ways. I try to find new stuff of EVERY genre--Hailey Whitters' album "Raised" reflects values from the Midwest that are universal, and Taylor Swift, even though not always in tune, has a knack for lyrics that are as good as any these days. Doesn't mean a Coltrane song or even "Moonlight Serenade" or "Stompin' at the Savoy" are off my playlist, and the inimitable back-to-back guitar solos by Dicky and Duane on "Stormy Monday" Live at the Fillmore East stops me in my tracks every time to marvel at their musicianship.
I love music, and it really doesn't matter to me when it was made...
Cheers!