Let me put it this way : I couldn't live without music ! Well, alright, I'm probably exagerating a bit here, but not all that much ! Anyway, when I'm at home, there's always music playing - whether it'd be on the radio, an album or videos on TV...
I haven't always been like this (thankfully ! *grin*). I started listening (seriously) to music rather late, IMHO. In 1983, I was 13. Before that, I'd listen to stuff but without paying too much attention. And my favorite songs were kid tracks like the songs from the Popeye soundtrack :-o
It's my brother who really pushed me into listening to more interesting stuff. First through what he used to buy. Back then, we were still in the middle of the disco wave, so that's pretty much what I started with : the Bee Gees, Boney M, Village People, Chic, ABBA, Ottawa, Patrick Hernandez (ah ! the famed "Born to be alive" !!!), etc...
Until I discovered Duran Duran. The first song I heard from them was "Is there something I should know ?". And the very first album I ever bought was their "Seven and the ragged tiger". Through the years, I've kept a passion for this band which remains to this day one of my favorites. Some of you may find this strange after reading (below) what else I listen to... but I usually consider myself a guy with very eclectic tastes ;-)
Anyway, this Duran Duran album was the first in a long series. I now own over 700 titles. The amusing thing with this story is that I have long since outnumbered my brother's collection ! Then again, I have to say that music has become for me more than just a hobby, it is something I need to live, just as much as eating or breathing ! Well, almost ;-)
When it comes to music, I am insatiable. I love to discover new artists, bands I'd never heard of before, new musical styles, etc... I won't go so far as to say that I like everything (I really have a hard time with anything that's house / techno or rap), but my tastes are very varied, going from rock to new wave, blues, disco, pop (not all of it, of course !), and so forth... But the musical style I like best is definitely progressive rock. Simply because I've never heard anything more creative. To me, progressive is to music what Science-Fiction is to literature : a mixture of genres, of musical styles, with crazy ideas, inventive sounds, made by artists who have a real passion for the music they're making, and deep lyrics which are often SF/fantasy-related.
Here's a selective list of my favorite artists (in alphabetical order) :