My quest for cultural literacy #1

My favorite pasttime is to seek out books, music, and knowledge that give me cultural literacy.
Cultural literacy is what I call building and recognizing reference points in social culture. This means being able to talk about music, literature, history, art, and movies with others as a point of reference (but also as a main topic of conversation).

While my efforts are broad and ongoing, I'm thinking generally today about my quest in regards to music.

Music

This is generally grouped into three separate efforts. I love to meet people with a strong suit in one of these areas, so that I can learn from them. I would consider #2 my strongest area and #1 my weakest.

1. Classical - I have not studied classical music nor music theory. My efforts thus far have been to try to learn and appreciate classical music. Pieces I enjoy so far are Massenet's Méditation from Thaïs, Fauré's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A, Op. 13: IV Allegro quasi presto, and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op. 18: II Adagio sostenuto. But I admit I still fall asleep at the symphony.
2. Popular - Popular music as began in the 20th century. Rock and Roll, Punk, and Rhythm and Blues. I grew up with the Beatles, Buddy Holly, James Taylor, Carol King, et al., but my efforts here have been more in regards to Punk (The Pixies, The Clash, et al.) and some of the music I did not grow up with (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, et al.) I also just like to be familiar with commonly known artists such as U2, Neil Diamond, Queen, and The Cure.
3. Current - I like to know what music is new and to be familiar with the genre, etc. even if I do not like it. I won't list any examples here because music can quickly transfer out of this section to #2 ... I can't claim to be a leader in this movement or even to be a hipster, but I like to have them as my friends :)

Currently Listening to

Classical --> Romantic Period (Rachmaninov, Liszt, Chopin)

Popular --> The Pixies, Johnny Cash, The Ramones

Current --> Wolfmother, Snow Patrol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Note: A huge part of this effort is even just learning about what's OUT there. Another reason why I love to meet people with a strong knowledge base. They can direct me to areas I am weak in so at the very least I know what seek out.