Originally Posted by RVCA

Do you guys think it's possible to condition yourself to enjoy certain types of music (or certain bands, or certain albums, etc.)? My friend operates under this hypothesis that the only reason Radiohead is so popular is because somebody influential (or some group) arbitrarily decided that they released the best album of the 90's, and as a result a large amount of people began listening to their music, even though they might not necessarily have enjoyed it, until they actually did enjoy it.

Of course, regarding his Radiohead hypothesis, I think he's just being a close-minded idiot. But I do think he's touching on a larger underlying idea. I do think it's possible to "condition" yourself into liking music that you otherwise would have dismissed. This can be a result of two factors, often working together:
1) The music/album/artist is acclaimed by some or many people you find respectable. These people could be professional critics, friends, family members, celebrities, etc.
2) The music/album/artist is something you force yourself to listen to repeatedly, not necessarily out of enjoyment, but because you feel obligated to and/or feel you're "missing" something that other people are "getting".