You know the cliche, "never judge a book by its cover"? Well, the same goes for music. I'm sure a lot of you listen only to pop because rock is "too loud". Or maybe you listen to rock because country is "too cheesy". The reason I know this? I used to be just like you. Once upon a time, I was the girl that listened to pop, rap, and nothing else. Rock was too noisy and country wasn't noisy enough. That was until I actually broadened my horizons.

I first ventured out by listening to rock. I started slowly with Paramore and Fall Out Boy. Unfortunately, over time these bands have changed from rock to pop. I still listen to their music, but after I started seeing them in magazines like Popstar and Teen Dream, I knew that they weren't as "rock" as I'd like. I was reading a book and it mentioned the band Linkin Park. I'd heard of them before, but had only listened to songs like "Numb" and "Shadow of the Day". After listening to twenty or so of their songs, I fell in love with a bunch of them (Paper Cut, By Myself, Faint, etc.) and to this day, they are some of my favorites.

Then I spent a day with my country-loving aunt, and what do you know? I fell in love, too. She showed me that although Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is an amazing song, "Lessons Learned", "That's Where It Is", and "I Just Can't Live A Lie", are just as amazing; if not better. I now own both of Carrie's CDs and plan on buying anymore that she releases. I've grown to love Taylor Swift, The Wreckers, Kellie Pickler, etc., and up until last year I would have expected my first concert to be Avril Lavigne, but instead it was one of my current favorite bands, Rascal Flatts.

I still turn on the radio everyday and listen to pop and rap. I love hearing new beats and learning about new artists. (Anyone heard Lesley Roy's single, "I'm Gone, I'm Going"? Or maybe "Crush" by David Archuleta? They are two of my current favs.) Flo Rida and Ray J still get me moving, and The Pussy Cat Dolls are always stuck in my head. All you Rihanna and Jesse McCartney fans out there... I want you to be able to go to a party, hear Tyler Hilton, Avenged Sevenfold, or the Beatles blasting out of stereo, and get up and dance. I want the people who listen to Kate Voegele, Flyleaf, and Jack's Mannequin to be able to listen to The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus without complaining. I'm not trying to get you to give up your taste in music. I just want you to be able to have FUN listening to whatever is playing.

So are you up for a challenge? Right now, I want you to go to www.playlist.com. Search the name of an artist that you've heard of, but never listen to. Listen to some of their songs and if you come to find that you don't like any of them, maybe the genre you like now is the genre for you. If you do like even ONE of the songs, gradually start to listen to different bands and genres. You may come to find, like I did, that being familiar with something is comforting, but getting to know something else is even better.