RIGHT NOTES, WRONG NOTES

THE 6O MINUTES/VANITY FAIR POLL

When it comes to taste in music, predictable is never as interesting as unpredictable. Just apply F. Scott Fitzgerald's definition of "a firstrate intelligence" to one's listening choices, and you'll concede that "the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind" is definitely a positive thing. So we appreciate some of the contradictions in this month's poll.

And yet, one wonders.

If Americans feel that the worst music of the last 44 years is being made right now, then why do we also turn to the radio when we want to hear music? So risky. Even selecting stations by genre can't give us the same kind of control or filter as CD players, turntables, computers, and various iDevices—all of which trail badly in our poll.

And if the sexiest instruments to play are the guitar, the saxophone, and the piano, then why, if we could join a band, would we instead assume the role of lead singer (women) or drummer (men)? Finally, it should not go unnoticed that in the "sexiest instrument" category the flute won a few admirers—no doubt the beneficiary of the Ron Burgundy Bump.

Which one of these decades had the worst music?

Jazz or hip-hop, which is more important?

Whose concert would you most want to see with your daughter?

Which musical artist would you want your child to study?

Which musical form has reached its peak?

Who would you most like to be in a rock band?

A song sounds best when sung in...

Which band would you go back in time to see?

How do you most often listen to music?

The sexiest instrument to play?

@vf.com SEE THE COMPLETE POLL RESULTS.

Menwanttobe drummers. Women want to be singers. And Ipanema leaves uscold

This poll was conducted on behalf of CBS News by Social Science Research Solutions of Media, Pennsylvania, among a sample of 1,017 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone February 5-9, 2014. Some low-percentage answer choices have been omitted.