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