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Why do you like the music you like? Science weighs in.

Preferences may change over time, but research shows that people tend to be especially fond of music from their adolescent years

By
September 25, 2022 at 7:55 a.m. EDT
Fans watch Pharrell Williams perform at the Something In the Water music festival in D.C. on June 18. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)
5 min

Have you wondered why you love a particular song or genre of music? The answer may lie in your personality, although other factors also play a role, researchers say.

Many people tend to form their musical identity in adolescence, around the same time that they explore their social identity. Preferences may change over time, but research shows that people tend to be especially fond of music from their adolescent years and recall music from a specific age period — 10 to 30 years with a peak at 14 — more easily.