Decided to do a different approach to my list. This is more based on what I enjoy listening to vs. what impresses me.

1. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady
2. Scott 4 - Scott Walker
3. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
4. Boxer - The National
5. The Slim Shady LP - Eminem
6. Amused to Death - Roger Waters
7. The Scarecrow - Avantasia
8. Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Hammock
9. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
10. Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull

how do you make the clear cut distinction between what you enjoy and what impresses you?

I think you can make the distinction. something like The White Album is whole lot more impressive in the way it was made than say The Body, The Blood, and the Machine by the Thermals. however i enjoy listening to the body the blood and the machine more than the white album.

Makes no sense.

I think what he's trying to say, is under the "impressive" list, he appreciates the artists craft, but doesn't derive as much pleasure from it as from something he thinks is less artistically impressive. So, I might find seared scallops in a white wine reduction to be a lot more impressive than Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but prefer Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (note: this example is counterfactual).

Yeah, makes sense to me.

Yeah, pretty much hit the nail on the head. Radiohead's music fascinates me to no end, and I listen to them nonstop, but I wouldn't call myself a Radiohead fan merely because I just don't enjoy listening to them.

now that makes no damn sense whatsoever.

Yeah, I get the distinction pgm and zephead were making, but I can't imagine listening non-stop to music that I don't enjoy. There's music that intrigues me more than it pleases me, but I don't listen to it all the time and if I did, I would call myself a fan of that music.

Well, this left me baffled. I can understand "giving something another chance," but if you straight up don't enjoy listening to something, perhaps it's time to move on for a while.

Nah, I understand where he's come from. When literally everyone else is jumping up and down about how good a band is, and you just can't hear it, you feel like a total retard.

I don't. I've never gotten Sonic Youth's appeal and haven't bothered with them in years.

I'm a big music nerd. If a band fascinates me enough, I'll listen to them regardless if I enjoy their music or not if the for the sake of studying them as much as possible. With a band like Radiohead, whom I don't like but I also don't hate, I listen to them a lot. By contrast, a band like, say, Captain Beefheart who also fascinates me but grates on me like nobody's business I don't listen to nonstop, but try to from time to time.

Whether I listen to music or not goes beyond whether I enjoy it or not. Artists like Radiohead, The Beatles, and so on who I find really interesting I'll listen to if only for the sake of listening. Plus, it provides a nice breath of fresh air for me from time to time, so when I get back to artists I enjoy, they sound all the nicer.

edit: I guess you could say I enjoy it in the sense that I find it fascinating to study, but I feel it's different from music that I just flat out listen to without trying to analyze it.

besides, if I didn't do this, then I wouldn't be a fan of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Scott Walker, or Bon Iver. I have a pastime of listening to interesting artists who I don't like at first, but after a while get into the mindset of a person who does like these artists.

idk, maybe I'm just weird

Sounds like you're listening for the wrong reasons but w/e. It seems odd to me that you could ever find an artist so interesting but not like it.

Different strokes for different folks I guess