Great thread! I'm an elder millennial (born in '84) and my dad was a computer programmer so I was something of an early adopter when it came to the internet. I'm definitely a bit jealous of people who grew up on 120 Minutes in the '80s - when I was in HS it was the height of Total Request Live.
You couldn't escape TRL as an 8th grader
In fairness 120 Minutes was a cult favorite and the average high schooler in 1989 was probably listening to Bon Jovi, not The Cure.
I was kind of a late bloomer with music - getting more into it in my late teens. The 2001 tournament will be nostalgic for me since that's around when I started following album reviews, etc. I grew up in New Jersey and Vintage Vinyl (R.I.P.) was my local record store!