Most of us have a certain style of music that we like. These styles might change throughout the years, but at each time in our lives, for the most, part we listen to our favorite genre of music and leave it at that.
When I first started playing the guitar, all I listened to was metal. Some good, some bad, but mainly metal. At the time I thought that all other music was awful - or at least is wasn't nearly as good as to what I liked. I listened to all of the great 80's hard metal bands like Dio, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Metallica and more. I loved this style and was not going to listen to anything else. That was until I heard Randy Rhoads from Ozzy play his classical piece Dee. When I first heard that song I thought "that's different - where's the distortion?" I listened to that song over and over until I new every note by heart. It was different from all the other stuff I listened too. I didn't know that a guitar could sound that good without the distortion. Boy, was I naive. But, the transition had begun. I was leaving my music comfort zone and was finding all sorts of different styles of music. I started by looking at my dad's record collection. Luckily, he had good taste. I was introduced to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, The Doors and many more. There was this whole other world of music out there. My mom listen to Elvis, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash. I absorbed it all. I realized at a fairly young age that you could like different styles of music. You can find good music in every genre. Even country :).
I know people that only listen to country and others that only listen to classic rock. If you find yourself saying that you only like one genre of music, I challenge you to move out of your music comfort zone and see what else is out there. You don't have to like everything but you might be surprised at what you find and how it could inspire you to play or practice differently.
Here is a list of artists that might help you branch out into other areas of music.
311
Home Brew
Chett Akins
Guitar Melody
Bob Marley
No Woman No Cry
Metallica
Fade to Black
Herbie Hancock
Jazz Fusion Cantelope Island
The Beatles
Don't Let Me Down
Derek Truck
Desdemona
Willie Nelson
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Soundgarden
Pretty Noose
Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
Ike Quebec
Acquitted
Carlos Santana
Black Magic Woman
Andres Segovia
Asturias
Primus
My Name is Mud
Led Zeppelin
Over the Hills and Far Away
John Denver
Country Road
Sex Pistols
God Save the Queen
Dan Tyminski - Allison Krauss and Union Station
Man of Constatn Sorrow
Korn
Freak On a Leash
Johnny Cash
A Boy Named Sue
Jimi Hendrix
Bold as Love
Social Distortion
Ball and Chain
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Can't Stop