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Why do most people like some kind of music?
We continually receive information about the world from our senses, and our brain must constantly work to make sense of it all. Our brains have evolved to enjoy order, and when we can make sense of the world, we're happy.
While the world around us is a mix of confusing sounds, music is full of predictable patterns and order that are much easier, and more satisfying, for our brains to 'figure out'.
Because every person's brain has its own slightly different way of finding order, certain types of musical patterns are more compatible. When a person hears a song and refers to it as "a bunch of noise", it's because their brain is having trouble finding patterns in the song. But another person might easily pick up these patterns and therefore receive pleasure from the song. This also explains why after repeated listens, a song can become a favorite.
We're exposed to music from birth, long before we get to choose what we like. Because we were raised on contemporary music, our brains have adapted to recognize the types of patterns present in it. Music from the classical era is so radically different from what we hear today that it may take much longer for some people to make sense of it.
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