Do not limit yourself by listening only to the musical styles you enjoy most. While you don’t need to love every kind of music or even listen to every kind of music all the time, it’s good to listen to a wide variety of styles and players. This will broaden your musical knowledge and give you many chances to learn from other players. For instance, a saxophone player will phrase their solos in ways a guitarist would probably not naturally think to. Likewise, a vocalist will use techniques a guitarist can learn to imitate (vibrato is a good example). Over time, and with some effort, you can assimilate these style differences and techniques into your playing, making you a more dynamic and versatile musician.
One of the most important albums in my own musical development is not buy a guitarist. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis continues to have a huge impact on the way I think about soloing and phrasing. That album was introduced to me by…wait for it…my first guitar teacher.
