Most of the new talent just plain sucks
Agree but ignoring the rap/hip-hop crap I actually think there's way more great music now than ever before. Most of the reason IMO is that I'm finally able to hear more music than in the past. I never listen to FM radio, rarely buy CDs, and can't say TV has recently influenced my music buying habits. What has influenced me though is that there's a ton of websites promoting indie music (e.g.,
www.garageband.com, misc. audio blogs on
vox.com). Anyone with a computer and a little bit of talent can put together a CD very cheaply. Yes most of it's junk but there's quite a few gems out there too. Sadly most of which will never be heard.