Crunch, I don't want to live in the past, nor do I only listen to one era of music. I'm frankly sick of "classic rock," as it's presented these days.
Our kids probably think that Hendrix had maybe 2 good songs - "Fire" & "All Along the Watchtower."
The band I'm in now just finished working out a single set for our upcoming debut. In the 12 song list, there are 4 songs older than 20 years. There IS still quality music being produced, though in the mass of crap being presented & overplayed, & the genre-specific trends of toady, these tunes are becoming harder & harder to find, ESPECIALLY tunes that are gonna be recognized by your average audience, but I'm thinking that we're managing fairly well.
Of course, I'm not your average listener, either. I loved the decade between 65 & 75 because of the eclecticity (if that's even a word) of the era. Music of all genres was presented to us all, in nearly every available medium that had music. These days, viable genres that COULD be appreciated are tossed aside. Even the satellite stations have genre-specific programming, although some of it is era-specific, which allows for some differences from tune to tune.
Today, you'd be hard-pressed to find any medium that will play Phish, Green Day, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, & rap or hip hop or r & b, back to back, like they would have in days past.
As jarring as those differences could be, at times, it kept ppl's minds open to other musical possibilities, & this probably affected their approach to other areas of thier lives, as well. We were a totally different ppl back then, &, in many many ways, I think we were a better ppl. There was none of that "zero tolerance" that we're so fond of now, & we were much more open & community-minded.
SMILE - it's the safest way to spread your cheeks!