I think you're making a baseless assumption about people in this thread, that if their taste in music changed it can only be because of some sort of peer pressure -- or that for some other reason, they don't already listen to whatever they personally like. I don't give a crap about what other people think of my music or perceived "artistic merit" and I certainly would never deprive myself of any entertainment because of others' perception. But there is a very rare category of music that is so trite, so grating, so repetitive, so lacking in creative merit that I can have no respect for the artists' ability -- which I do have for the vast majority of music that I simply do not like. Limp Bizkit falls into that category, as well as a lot of Nickelback. Most of the other music in this thread does not, even if I'm not a fan (such as with Linkin Park and Korn).