What keeps you listening to music? (specifically new music)
 

This might be a pretty general question but, what keeps you listening to music and keeps you on the hunt for new music? (instead of listening to older stuff you know you like over and over)

Does it help you feel good/less stressed?

Do you enjoy the sense of discovery?

Do you feel the need to listen to more almost in a "pursuit of knowledge" type way?

Do you just find it simply enjoyable?

boredom

When you're travelling, it's so much more fun to have something with a nice beat in the background, like this:

Probably all of that. Originally for discovery / learning, the same reason I've explored music from my teens really. It becomes a habit I think, and some probably need that feeling of excitement freshness and challenge of discovering new things in their lives. Maybe it gives us that childhood feeling of things being new and exciting which makes our lives have more interest for us. I really had this long before the internet but of course it's even easier to feed this need for discovery now.

I mainly pursue new music in the hope of finding something that will completely blow me away, it's actually bordering on an addiction for me - chasing that next 'hit'.

I'm forever trying to increase my knowledge on genres of specific interest too, and listening to the music itself is the best way to do that.

I like it better than reality.

All of the above, but primarily it's a knowledge pursuit. I want to love as much music as possible, and I can't do this unless I am listening to as much music as possible. The next album to change my life could be in the next batch of downloads I take. Furthermore, there's a bit of a sense of a musical-arms-race that comes into play on a forum like this. Not in the sense that it's competitive (that is a low concern), but I want to be able to share discussion with as many people on as many topics as possible, and that also requires a large breadth of listening.

basically what Stu and Pedestrian said.....with a bit of addiction added....i honestly feel there is at least a mental and possible physical addiction to music.....

Absolutely.

Don't forget that basic human element of greed too.

I'm not sure there's an 'arms race', as some people will just have more time to listen to music than others. Some may prefer to concentrate on particular areas and others to have a view of many genres. I'm more the second type, though I'm into discussion of music on forums than recommendation threads.