Welcome to the forums ^_^ I hope you enjoy it. I'm also new here and I find the forum to be quite the interesting meld of musical ideas and discussions so far. I listen to 60s/70s music all the time(I'd rather listem to some Hollies, The Who or Guess Who, Pink Floyd or Queen any day of the week) with only doses of 80s-00s when I feel like some hardcore dancing. I agree with you that the crap that makes it to the mainstream nowadays is a pathetic excuse for music, but as a person once said, "There is a big difference between an artist and a musician".
And as for country, country has been trying to become rock for quite some time. I dislike most of the country music made in the 80s to now but I can't say I hate Johnny Cash or John Denver or many other country artists before the 80s. I actually enjoy some country-rock melded music sometimes like Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ozark Mountain Daredevils. So you're not the only one that thinks country has lost its way
