Re: The part of your statement above that is in bold text...
I firmly believe that the simple fact that MTV no longer plays music might have something to do with that (it does for me, at least). Sometimes, I find myself watching the Grammys or the MTV VMA's, and I constantly find myself asking "Who in the heck are these people????".
As a person who grew up with MTV, and music videos, this actually makes me sad (and somewhat angry) as an adult.
That probably is part of it, and I fully agree with you about the decline of MTV. That was a fun era. Same goes for old school radio.
The other part of it, for me, is that I got worn out on hip-hop/r&b/rap by the time the 90's were over. IMO that type of music had a shelf life and a very low ceiling in terms of being original. Basic r&b is still ok, but hip-hop and rap not so much. I enjoyed many of the pioneers and originators dating back to the late 70's and early 80's. From Sugar Hill Gang through LL Cool J, Beasties, Public Enemy, Too Short, NWA, etc.
But my the time the 2000's rolled around, it was far too much sampling of older music and lacking the same originality. Although I did enjoy Slim Shady, who was a breath of fresh air.
IDK, as a amateur musician I just prefer artists that play actual instruments and evolve over time. The sampling/programming thing got old fast. And just doesn't have the same high ceiling of creativity IMO. I'm sure huge fans of the music will vehemently disagree, and that's fine. But my lack of interest is mainly why I don't know most of the newer artists.
That, and because music has evolved past the firewall music labels and is available through so many outlets (which is GREAT for artists) it's become really tough to navigate the ocean of diarrhea to find the worthwhile stuff. There's just far too much for any one person to sort through.