[ojosilva]

Finding the music you like (#1) is the OP's challenge. In fact, it's every other music listeners challenge. The "particularly" you mention is also not as obvious: could be the rhythm, the lyrics, the melody, the voice or a mix of all different factors, most of which are subjective. Songs you may like could be spread out in a myriad of styles, origin or periods too. A lot of it is not discoverable right away using streaming services AI, a manual procedure or plain intuition.

But I agree it has more of "viceral" to it than anything else.

My advice to OP: find the radio stations, podcasts or playlists that tickle your fancy and just keep track of what you like as you listen.

OTOH, if you want a more historical approach, read about the music (or watch documentaries/tv shows) before you seek it out. That works for me when reaching out to music that are not on my radar. For instance, during the Xmas holidays I tend to read many Best Albums of YYYY lists, such as the Rolling Stone magazine one. That's how I found Amy Winehouse, Radiohead's In Rainbows among others that would have gone inadvertently for more time. I enjoy reading the "why I should listen to" part.