There is a subtle difference between taste and quality.

I may not like a particular genre or style of music but I can see and respect the craftmanship and talent involved in producing it... Similarily I can tell when someone has no craft or talent and has thrown together something. I listen to a lot of music and some of the crap produced does not deserve any encouragement or recognition.....that applies to music produced in any era. I may be an old fart but can still appreciate a good musician regardless....problem is nowadays they are pretty thin on the ground...especially in mainstream pop. They seem to have run out of ideas, originality and just plain old talent and ability. That said I can take you to places where some brilliant young musicians play...It sickens me to think that they will never get any recognition...whilst some so called stars with little skill or talent get paid obscene amounts.
It is up to us the public to get the message across that we will not accept this mediocrity and we demand higher standards. Accepting this state of affairs and saying it has always been like that and how dare we criticise fellow musicians is only condoning and encouraging the problem to get worse. It will always be a problem if we do nothing...Perhaps the people who think that these popstars are talented would change their minds if they actually heard some really talented people for a change.
I have said it before but will say it again...We have been bombarded with so much crap we have become accustomed to it and our expectations have been suppressed and our standards lowered...in fact the bar is at an all time low.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=687727&songID=5238055