Would people have more unique music tastes if they tried diverse genres of music? Or is popular music popular because many people simply like it?

This thought is based on my personal experiences. I used to listen to the music that was popular among my friend groups. As a kid, it was pop. In my early teenage, it was kpop. In late my teenage, it was metal. In early adolescence, I mostly listened to popular indie rock bands. My music taste wasn't based on what I actually liked, it was based on what I was exposed to.

About half a year ago, I came across Depeche Mode, and oh boy I fell in love with them. My mind was blown when I was listening to Violator, I didn't know music could sound that great. After that I refused to go back to my old music, and started vigorously searching for music that I actually cared about. I'm finding and falling in love with new genres previously unknown to me, for example trip hop and psybient.

During the past 6 months, I have probably listened to more music than all my life before that. Turns out it wasn't that "I wasn't that into music", I just was listening to music that didn't appeal to me. I'm on a fast track to becoming a music nerd.

That leaves me wondering, do people actually like general pop/rap/rock music? Or do they only listen to it because that's all they've ever been exposed to? Maybe I'm just projecting, but I feel like people are missing out on the music experience.