So far I think you guys are being fairly simplistic about it.
For one, saying all mainstream music is crap is pointless. There wasn't an alternative to mainstream music until the 1980's, and anyone who talks about the Velvet Underground or the Stooges being "indie" forgets that all there releases were on major labels, and despite being massively influential were considered failures in their time.
Furthermore, to say that music isn't good now as it was in the past is immensely short sighted, as they said the same thing in just about every decade of the past 50 years. There are however, some problems with current music that weren't around in the past. Among them include:
The fact that independent music, which started out an economically and socially diverse platform, has become strictly an upper-middle class phenomenon after the alternative explosion of the 90s depicted more mainstream alternative rock bands as working class
The fact that there isn't a major confrontational, spitefully aggresive band, and hasn't been since the Jesus Lizard. There are bands that are filled with aggression, but it's not in the same direct, head-turning way that the Sex Pistols did in the 70s or the Butthole Surfers did in the 80s
The fact that with internet hyping every band of semi-decent quality to beyond oblivious as the "savior of rock and roll" fans demand instant results instead of giving these bands time for their sound to grow. Witness the deterioration of the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Vines, and countless others who have now fallen out of the hipster spotlight simply because they hyped them into mainstream popularity and, as a result, out of their hipster fanbase to begin with
That being said, it's not like each generation before didn't have their problems. People tend to worship the 80s underground as a watershed for musical creativity, but listen to Henry Rollins and Jello Biafra talk about how impoverished and starving they were doing these times, and it hardly seems ideal.
Additionally, late 70s punk, another watershed, had to deal with massive drug addiction, disguisting scheming by label executives, and being spat upon by mainstream society everywhere they went. While that may seem noble now, you try going through it. Note how three of the four Ramones, three out of 5 new york dolls (actually, 4, if you include their original drummer), and countless others such as Sid Vicious, Joe Strummer, and Ian Curtis all died untimely deaths. While not all were due to their activities, none of these legends live to see their 55th birthday.
So listen to music of the past if you want, just admit that that time had plenty of problems. Consequently, if you like contemporary music more, realize the limitations modern music industry has placed on it's artists.
