"Challenging music is the best" I really like that.

I think the one thing I enjoy most in music is the building of tension and releasing of tension. It can be any genre, any style, if it gradually builds reaching a climax on each track, and as a cohesive whole, the album will have a much longer used by or even none at all.

Something I don't like is when the music isn't original, only reminding me of something clichéd. However if an artist rather uses a sound to explore its possibilities hence extending it beyond my preconceived boundaries (this is hard to explain) then it goes to the top of my list. Take "idioteque" by radiohead for example, when I first heard this it annoyed me because it sounded like badly made dance music. However after a few repeat listenings it is among my fav songs. Everytime I hear it, it is not only surprising but very emotive, for me this equals bonus points.

I hope I answered the topic?

I should also add that I find it difficult attempting to critique a record which has received almost unanimous praise as a classic, particuarly those from 40 years ago. It takes a while to seperate its significance from what I am actually hearing.

Oh and you know after listening to sgt peppers and the white album (I'm not in love with them yet), the white stripes go down a notch in my book.