I'd say it has a lot to do with why one listens at all. Some want to have expectations fulfilled. Others want new and ever challenging experiences. I have found that the music that I can go back to over and over in a serious manner is music that has a lot of layers. And so your focus can shift with different listenings and how you first felt about an aspect can change with the shift in focus.
Music accompanies many other rituals.
And so some music evokes or associates. People want to hear this music when it is the appropriate circumstance. This says less about the music on its on terms and more about how it is used. We got into this somewhat a while back, but I for one could live the rest of my days never hearing another Elvis or Beatles song again. Whatever may have been comelling and fresh at some point in time is long dead.