I want to make clear that I am not a Nickelback fan. I would rather listen to William Hung sing “Amazing Grace” than hear Chad Kroeger blare out “How You Remind Me.”

While their music will probably never garner my praise, I have to give it up to the Canadian group for creating the most commercially accessible rock out there right now. Last month, the group was named “Band of the Decade” by Billboard Magazine after selling 30 million records and producing six Top-10 singles on the U.S. charts over the past ten years. As sad as I was to hear this news, I can’t deny that any band that sells 30 million albums deserves some sort of recognition.

The fact that they were the highest-selling rock band of the last 10 years, however, speaks more to our society than it does to Chad Kroeger and crew. Like the president we elect, we Americans choose the Billboard “Band of the Decade” we deserve. Nickelback’s ascent to the top of the hierarchy of generic rock is hugely dependent on one driving force: the casual music listener in America.

Any band that can tap into the minds of those listeners will undoubtedly sell millions, and no band did that better than Nickelback in the past 10 years. So who is this casual music listener anyway? Who is responsible for buying the 30 million albums Nickelback has sold since they debuted on the charts in 2001?

According to Craig Marks, editor-in-chief of Blender Magazine, the culprits that are fueling the flames of Nickelback’s domination are none other than tweens and teenagers. You remember your taste in music when you were 13, right? Before I began developing my musical senses, pop-punk bands like New Found Glory had more spins in my record player than any other kind of group. This was definitely not because they were great bands (because they weren’t), but because I didn’t have the desire to expand my musical horizons at the time.

This lack of aspiration to discover new music is at the heart of the issue at hand. The advent of the digital music age in the last decade has had a polarizing effect on the music tastes of young Americans. With more access to music than ever before via the Internet, one might think that the average American adolescent would be more willing to explore music that might not have a radio friendly sound. This ideal scenario, however, was not the case in the last decade. Instead, young people were being marketed to with as much generic rock on the Internet as they would find on the radio. Musical originality that descended into mainstream American culture during this tech-savvy generation was limited.

The acceptance of this limited musical comfort zone by America’s youth can be attributed directly to the music industry, which sells bands with the least abstract and challenging sound possible. Bands like Nickelback feed this music industry profile by using a winning formula: “sentimental” lyrics about drugs and sex, simple chord progressions that are constantly recycled and a lead singer with a standard alt-rock deep voice like Kroeger’s. It is sad that consumers buy into this generic product, and it’s not going to change until real talent gets its moment in the sun.

So if you’re looking for signs that the world is well on its way to ending in 2012, look no further than the fact that all of Nickelback’s albums in the past decade have spent more than 150 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The future of music for the next decade lies with the middle school and high school kids who are giving life to the music industry. Please, if you know someone between the ages of 12 and 18, do us all a favor and challenge their musical palate. Help them use the Internet to find new bands that don’t sound like Nickelback. I am not asking us to turn the next generation into indie snobs, but it’s all about exposure and acceptance. Many artists might not have a sound as commercially acceptable as Nickelback on a first listen.

However, an in-depth exposure to something not as radio-friendly as Chad Kroeger and co. might improve the listener’s musical horizons and in turn, upgrade the music industry for all of us.