The thing about Mainstream music back then, was the talent, the raw talent that those musicians had and how young the music industry was. They didn't sound like the other pop band happening. They brought their own guns most of the time. And you know featured real instruments. and not some backing track people sing along to and dance at. Sure it was cheesy and stupid, but it wasn't actually bad. Today there are a handful of artists that just look the part and can't really sing. The Music industry changed a lot from 60s to the 2000s, and it has become so damn apparent that a lot of music today is transparent. It's happened in nearly every genre, the most evident of what's happening is Rap.