Recently, my friends and I were scrolling through our Spotify playlists and recommending songs to each other.

A classmate chimed in as she was looking over my shoulder and said, “Why are you listening to that? Taylor Swift is so basic.”

I thought, “Why do you care?”.

I can listen to whatever music I want. The same logic applies for everyone: You should develop your own music taste without worrying what others think.

There’s no such thing as bad taste in music

Music taste is subjective and personal, so no one is in a position to judge others. There isn’t a standard for good or bad music when every artist has different styles, lyrics, and messages they want to convey.

For example, when my classmates look down on others who still listen to songs popular in 2017, such as “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, they say it is bad music. However, this song has none of the qualities indicative of bad music, such as awkward rhythms or random melodies. What my classmates mean is that they are tired of hearing overplayed songs.

Obviously classical music such as “The Magic Flute” by Mozart is, from a technical perspective, “better” than most pop music. However, this doesn’t mean that people are dumb because they enjoy fun and poppy music made for younger audiences.

There are countless genres of music, and everyone likes something different. For instance, many of my classmates think K-Pop is “basic and repetitive,” but that is also the point of the genre. K-Pop songs have simple and cheerful rhythms so that K-Pop groups can dance and perform to them. If you want more calming or sophisticated songs, listen to a different genre. But that doesn’t make K-Pop bad.

Some people judge to feel special

Often, music taste is a way to find new friends. For example, when two people both love rock music, they bond naturally. However, some people think that their music taste is superior to others.

Some music fans buy indie records or listen to underground artists because they think this music is more unique than mainstream artists. Even if they may not even like indie music that much, they like the aesthetic and the sense of superiority they feel by participating in this subculture.

Music isn’t a stereotype to judge people by

Music isn’t made for grouping people together based on music stereotypes, such as how some jazz and blues listeners are weirdos.

Although sharing your Spotify Wrapped, an end-of-year analysis of Spotify user’s top listening moments, to your friends is interesting, people shouldn’t make assumptions about each other’s personalities based on their music tastes. For example, although Billie Eilish makes melancholy music, her fans aren’t always emo and depressed.

Music stereotypes only limit us when meeting new people. Instead, music brings people together. Our brains often synchronize when talking about or dancing to music. For example, when you are at a concert with thousands of people dancing to the same song, you feel a sense of belonging even if you’ve never met the person next to you.

Music is art. Why should we make people insecure and self-conscious about their music tastes?

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Your music taste doesn’t define your character, so don’t judge other people’s taste in music, and if you like something, don’t worry what other people say about it. People should not feel self-conscious about their music taste when there is no “good” or “bad” music taste.

Stop judging other people’s music tastes. Your choice of music may be unique but it’s not superior.