I guess I'd have to credit my parents. My dad was a jazz pianist and my mother was into gospel. I didn't much care for either, although I did love a record my dad had... Dave Brubeck Quartet "Gone With The Wind" which was "regular" tunes I knew played bebop style. To this day, that record slays me. Joe Morello's drumming made me want to become a drummer. Now that I think of it, many of the tunes could be considered gospel so perhaps my mother had just as much to do with my love of that record.

This was in the early-mid 1960's and I gravitated from Little Wonders records to rock and roll. Electric guitars ruled the day. Then I really listened to the sound of an acoustic guitar... John Sebastian playing "You're a big boy now". Simple playing but the sound just killed me. It made me want to pick up the guitar and my (non-human) soulmate was born.

Then came 1974 and there wasn't much good rock to listen to IMHO. I gravitated towards jazz and I suppose my immediate taking to it was a result of hearing my dad play it and listen to it. Later I re-explored rock and several other genres. Music defines me - always has.

With audio, I got into it simply as a way to better serve the music. It was a conscious decision that started in my own mind. I did not know a single audiophile until I became one. But as predominately a music lover, my passion for audio was far outweighed by music and audio upgrades are extremely infrequent today.