I read Shatterheart's thread, and I thought about me and my own musical preferences along the years. Probably the earliest and most definite beginning was the boy band age. I was in elementary school, and I thought N'Sync and Backstreet Boys were aaaawesome. From there, strangely enough, came the Jpop era, where all I listened to was songs from anime shows and other singers, like Do As Infinity. Then my friend told me about this Kpop singer who was big in Japan. She was Boa, and then came the Kpop era.
I was obsessed with Asian music and looked down on American music. Then, I'm not sure when, I was totally into indie music, and got my hand onto anything that claimed indie, like Elliot Smith. I just liked the idea it was obscure.
I'm still kind of like that, but right now it doesn't matter as much to me. Now I kind of look down on Asian music, and my playlist is all English speaking songs, usually upbeat or nostalgic. I'm more open to a lot more music, except for screamo. I guess it'll take a little more to get that.