One of my worst fears

is that I'll end up in an old folks' home for people born in the 1950s like me, and the entertainment director will lead group sing-alongs featuring the greatest hits of Seals & Crofts, America, Bread, and so on.

There is so much great music in a wide variety of genres, I feel like I'm living in the greatest era for musical exploration ever! To me it's a miracle that with very little effort I can hear Roma songs from Eastern Europe, Indian Carnatic music, 1920s hot jazz from the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the latest funk from Booker T. Jones, hard-to-pigeonhole artists like Jun Miyake (his music on the soundtrack to the Wim Wenders film, Pina, OMG!), groundbreaking new jazz from people like Jason Moran and Cassandra Wilson (not to mention the beautiful hymn-like tunes of Abdullah Ibrahim), fascinating electronic music from people like Paul Lansky, or how about the all-female saxophone group The Tiptons?... and so much more, all in the same day.

I suggest plunging yourself into unfamiliar waters and seeing what you find. Try letting the Pandora app turn you on to new sounds. Watch some of the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts for incredible variety and virtuosity.

I love much of the music of my youth. I will never get tired of the greatest Beatles songs, or my favorite R&B tracks (Martha & the Vandellas -- my lifelong crush!). But there is an amazing world of music out there, just waiting to titillate your eardrums and take you to new places. Give it a try.