My thoughts, some of which might overlap with what other members have mentioned here:
This hypothesis can be true for popular as well as classical music, but again the assumption is that the sights and sounds associated with a period we have fond memories of can have an effect on our choice in music. In my case, I picked up an interest in old Hindi, Malayalam and Carnatic Classical music mainly by listening to the cassettes my father used to play. Over the years I've picked up interest in different genres and music from different languages, which too share a good part of my listening time.
In the case of a person who didn't have an elderly family member interested in music, I guess his choices are more open and can be quite interesting (less constricted) than mine, in case he/she develops a liking for music. On a parallel, my choice in movies have evolved over time with no clear definition and I watch movies from around the world from the silent era to the modern times (with preference leaning towards classics), same applies to books with interest changing from sci-fi thrillers/mysteries while being a kid to literature now.
There is another grey area, which is a sense of identity which we try to achieve through all this. This too can change our interests as we progress in life.
Eg:- As we grow older (and more serious?), we mayn't like to be associated with, say a song from the 80s which had some cheesy lyrics (which used to be a favorite back then).