Music has degraded in quality, especially in recent years.
Some American music has gained names with "classic" in it, for example Classic Rock or Classical. This happens every few decades, and following this, experimentation occurs. Recent experiments include "Disco", "Rap", "Techno", "Grunge", "Alternative", "80's Hair-band", "Goth", and "Heavy Metal". None of these newer types have stayed existent for long, and for a good reason. Sure, some music has died and is still being listened to; I still listen to grunge CDs from Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
It is time for a new classic, because there are no new classic bands; Pink Floyd is not releasing anything new, Mozart and Beethoven are long dead, Led Zeppelin has long since crashed. All we can do is replay their albums, which removes the enjoyment of a live show.
I cannot suggest a new style that should be created, but I would keep my eye on "Old Skool" Rap. This is the version of rap alive in the early 1980s with a real bass and drum-set and with higher quality lyrics. It is known that the real instrument is better than any imitation or emulation; this is why live concerts even exist; this leaves out techno/disco and current rap. Thus, we can assume that a music type that uses real instruments will survive. In addition, a music type is needed that is not necessarily screechy, as 80's hair band and heavy metal music is known to be. This new music type should not be religion-based; Goth is usually based of off Satanism, technically a form of Christianity. The alternative/grunge style, popularized by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and so on, was created as an alternative to mainstream music, and thus cannot, in principle, become extremely popular.
I first noticed this quality decrease in 1995, looking back at the death of Kurt Cobain, the ex-lead singer and co-creator of Nirvana. I looked at the current state of music and all the bands claiming to be "alternative", along with everyone else. This does not work; if everyone is different, someone will be the same. And many bands were the same in sound, style, even drum beats.
I then thought back to what was played on the radio and realized that before 1994, music played on a rock radio station was rock. Recently, in my local area, one station that played rock music switched to "hardcore", a poor copy of rock using an electronic keyboard and drum machine; another has switched from classic rock to disco. On the plus side, another station switched from hardcore and alternative (odd combination) to rock. This still does not solve the problem, but at least high quality music is being promoted. Promotions such as these will help for the selection of a new classic.
Listen to the old classics and look around you to make your own choice as to what people will like and what a classic should have. Listen to and promote the music that is complete; real instruments, meaningful lyrics, talented musicians, and nice personality.
I was quite unqualified to write about music. Still am. A large amount of the above is either wrong or at least unsubstantiated but I don't know what to do about it.
My curmudgeon attitude toward music eventually lead me to listening to the same bands and refusing anything new, up until my 30s; then I relaxed. These days I listen to a surprising amount of pop.
My prediction that early hip hop would become the new classic
wasn't wrong, so I got that going for me.