Can We Appreciate Music?

I had a long argument last night with Adam about the following statement:

"Soundgarden is better than Nirvana."

How you feel about that doesn't really matter.  Well, it matters a little bit, but the point is that Adam insisted that no one could appreciate Nirvana unless you were alive and a music fan during the height of their popularity.  Side note: he stole this argument from a book, but that doesn't make it any less valid.

So take a second to think about that. We can't truly appreciate the music unless we were there to take in all the outside factors.  For me, that's a depressing thought.  I really truly think that music can be great on its own.  That yes, outside forces can help you to understand music.  But at its core, at it's most basic, there is good music.  That you can tell, that you feel something.  Adam took the negative to that argument, and we spoke about this the majority of the night.

I hope he's not right, because this what I've been doing the past two years on this blog, appreciating the music that I wasn't alive to fully appreciate.  I hope he's not right because it means that the only music I CAN appreciate is the music being made right now, and I'm not sure I want to appreciate this music.

Thoughts?