Eh, music went downhill when the record companies switched from acoustic recordings to electric recordings in the mid-1920s.
Give me Isham Jones and Abe Lyman!
A pal of mine, currently a mandolin player, but in the 70s a drummer for a proto-punk band, only listens to recordings from the 1920s no later.
"Rock n Roll's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died."