Eighty-seven students were interviewed about their music listening habits, roughly two-thirds of whom were women and one third were men. They were asked two questions: What new band album is your favorite, and what genre of music do you most often listen to? The survey was asked carried out in various apartments and given to random students in the library.

Students surveyed had very diverse tastes, and often roommates had opposing opinions on various genres. Alyson Gardner, a freshman from Lake in the Hills, Ill., confidently said “I’d rather shoot myself than listen to rap.”

When asked to pick a favorite album, many students checked their iPods to decide. Most had many albums to choose from. Seventy-two students were able to single out a new album they were enjoying. Most of the others preferred the radio or what their roommates were listening to.

The popular choice of the survey, with eight votes was Rascal Flatts with their spring 2006 album, Me and My Gang. With seven votes, the runner up was last years’ Denver-based band, The Fray, with their album, How to Save a Life.

The top music genre turned out to be Alternative rock with 26 votes, closely followed by country with 25. Pop music received ten votes, Hip hop/Rap eight and Punk seven. The remaining votes were distributed among Folk, Indie, Eighties, Oldies and Jazz.

“I like happy music,” said Hannah Sherman, a sophomore from Lebanon, Ore.