It's all just about taste, isn't it?
If you talk about music quality or if you compare artists, then there will always be people who will tell you that the appreciation of art is just a matter of taste. Some people will say that there are no good or bad artists and that there is no such thing as great art or commercial crap. Everything’s basically the same, and it just depends on what you personally like.
THAT’S BULLSHIT OF COURSE, AND MUSIC QUALITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TASTE.
Claiming that Justin Bieber is just as great as Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix or David Bowie is just stupid. One Direction, the Backstreet Boys, and all of those K-Pop bands are not on the same level than the Beatles, Pink Floyd, or Radiohead for example. Miley Cyrus doesn’t play in the same league as Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Etta James, or Madonna.
I THINK THERE IS A LARGE CONSENSUS AMONG MUSIC CRITICS AND MUSIC LOVERS ON WHAT’S GOOD AND WHAT’S NOT, AND IN MOST CASES IT’S QUITE OBVIOUS BY THE WAY.
And it’s not surprising to see that those people who claim that music is just about "taste” are mostly those who are listening to really bad music. But it’s not all black and white of course. Most artists are located somewhere in that grey zone between good and bad, and then even those listeners who appreciate art may have various opinions of course. We don’t have to dig into the details at this point — for now, you just need to understand that there is both good and bad art, and you need to commit to making good or even great music in future.