What music does Gen Z listen to?

Take care beware of many older-than-you folk here you will group anyone under 40 together, call them all hipsters who listen to music in the background only/don't really 'know' music and claim that their "insert one person they know under 40 listens to this so everyone that age must" or blindly guess posts.

Because of the lack of communication between generations (we really all belong to each generation until we pass on anyway), most answers will be guesses, but hopefully the younger posters come on this thread and post.

Captain Leo, you are singlehandedly trying to bring this forum into at least the 1990's by a lot of your threads and I applaud you and hope you continue to try to balance the forum out amongst the decades more in the future. Sometimes it feels lopsided and lump-them-all-together-sided.
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That aside, I talk to young people at concerts, at my 2nd job and casually ask around just in everyday life. It's a mix, a big fat mass of indescribable mix -usually closer to the current mainstream with some going back as far as they remember according to age, but once someone hits college age, they learn of more oldies and are more overall knowledgable about analysis. The analysis hits more starting at 18. I'm in my 30's and love to talk with all ages about music. I loved sports more so it took me until my teens to get more serious about it.

 

Hey when all you folks turn 60+, just be happy you can still hear the Music!!!!!

 

Probably Chance the Rapper, Fetty Wap, and Thomas Rhett.

 

I am the father of a 20 year old. His listening ranges from death metal, like Infant Annihilator and other "cookie monster" vocals, to electronica he finds on the YouTube channel Suicidesheep. He doesn't collect music, he just listens to it on his iPhone, so he doesn't invest anything, financially or emotionally, into it. If he doesn't like the first 20 seconds, he goes to something else; me, at that age, I'd buy an album and listen to it a few times even if I didn't like it too much.

JcS

 

I'm not so sure. While you may be a bit of an outlier in your love of classic prog for your age group, a surprising amount of people your age listen to stuff from the 70's and 80's. I know because I'm a great uncle (!) to one (younger than you) and I know what he likes. If you check out r/music on Reddit, you'll find it's littered with classic rock and 80's alternative. But quality usually wins out, no matter the era-we just may have a deficit in that area currently. More than anything else, though, it's exposure-and it's easier than ever now to be exposed to great music. I have first hand experience in changing minds simply by letting young people hear good stuff that they previously mocked.

 

Maybe ask them instead of a forum largely populated by men older than 40?

 

In my line of business I come into contact with many people in their early twenties. A few of them have told me music today stinks. When I walk into where they work they always have classic rock or an oldies station playing. These days oldies seems to be pop from the 70s and 80s, as well as 60s. Just for reference I'm 47.

Forget trying to "keep hip", listen to what moves you, expose yourself to as much music as you can, old/new any genre and enjoy yourself.

 

I have a friend with kids older than mine, and his oldest's favorite band is Twenty One Pilots.

My 4 year old doesn't really listen to music on his own, but we listen to Alt Nation on Sirius XM a lot while driving, and acts that he likes songs from are: The Strumbellas, The Lumineers, Fitz and the Tantrums, Twenty One Pilots, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Miike Snow, Waters and Imagine Dragons. We've basically collected a playlist of songs that he's said he likes from that station. I find much of that pleasant, but I'm too old to really get into anything too deeply.

 

Do you ever listen to anything from before 1955?

 

I do agree with a lot of comments here. But I do have a nephew who's 16. I asked him about what music he listens to and he said he's really into Mac Demarco, Courtney Barnett, Bully, and King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard. He said some others I never heard before but these I knew and I have to say I was pleasantly impressed. SOME kids know whats up.

 

I work in the Cleveland Public School System. 99.9% of those kids are listening to hip-hop, on their phones, during class.
About 20% (a guess) of those are making their own "beats".

It's a different demographic.

 

I'm 20 years old and I listen to all kinds of rock, electronic, soul, 60s-8os pop, hip hop, and some other stuff. I listen to music all the way from the 60's to now, and I'm always keen on discovering artists and genres I've never heard before. I like some 50s music but don't know not as much about it as later decades, and I've never touched pre-50's music.

 

I work in a record store. A quick and dirty, probably unfair and definitely stereotypical analysis:

Younger kids like Twenty One Pilots and Grace Vanderwaal.

Teenagers like The Front Bottoms and Imagine Dragons.

20-ish hipsters like John Maus and Protomartyr, the kinda-hipsters like Mac DeMarco and Father John Misty, and the basics like Ed Sheeran and new country.

Once you get past that, you get a mixture of legacy acts and some of the more traditionally minded new stuff. LCD Soundsystem, Angel Olsen, Weezer, Childish Gambino, and the usual classic rock suspects.

I hesitate to add that none of this is a value judgement. There's some fantastic stuff listed up there.

 

people talking into a vocal autotune....

 

Look at the iTunes Top Twenty and you'll probably have your answer (might be even better to use Spotify's top charting songs).

As for 27 being old....I don't think so.

 

What an elusive generation. The kids that I see don't seem to have any musical interests. Either that or hip hop.

 

I enjoy Queen, Supertramp and The Turtles

 

What I wouldn't give to be 27 again, I'm 32 and feel like it's time to be put out to pasture.

 

Well, if she's just a girlfriend then no divorce proceedings are needed to make a change. but I can say that more than likely, if you stay healthy, you won't actually feel old age set in until sometime after 45, honest. I was running half marathons in my early fifties. I'm still pretty much the average music listener that I was when I was younger but I do like new things if they are good. Good pop songs. New prog rock. I'm an older dad too so my son who is in his early teens has his own taste, makes his own music too, and about the only thing we agree on is Kraftwerk. Occasionally he plays me something that I like. I have a wall of records and he has no real interest in them. As I delve into the newer, chart topping hits I usually am disappointed and keep wondering where the innovators are hiding out. My safe place these days is a good jazz radio station that plays interesting music from a distant era. I'm amazed at how much good music is out there (any genre) that I haven't heard yet.

 

welp, i'm 43 and you're both reminding me how insufferable I was in my 20s and 30s.

 

That Justice Beaver character seems to be popular...

 

My younger brother is in that age bracket. He likes the Beach Boys and Kendrick Lamar.

 

If you feel ancient now, how are you going to feel in three, four, five, six decades time?

 

From an article in 2011 they surveyed 13 year olds (aged 19 today obviously but still within the OP range) who were using various streaming music services.
I attach the link below. One Direction, Imagine Dragons, Taylor Swift the usual suspects.

Exploring age-specific preferences in listening

 

My young friends like bands like:

Balloon Knot
White Raisin
The Stink Knuckles
Wrecka The Rappa
Dokken