I've encountered this reaction a lot, but I suspect that it actually stems from a dislike of the kind of people that often listen to jazz/classical etc. which it then extended to the music itself. My approach is to enjoy the music in complete isolation from the 'aficionado community'. Music is something that any human being is capable of enjoying, no need to have a degree in musicology or to be a musician yourself.
> I'd say I would be more of a fan of the blues genre
That's perfectly fine, no need to listen to things you don't like :) - keep in mind though that it's important to assess the thing itself, not its fanbase.
> maybe only in the background
Perhaps this is a problem. My experience with jazz and classical is that at their best they really aren't background music, at least not for the first few hearings. I would recommend setting some time aside to listen intently and to explore the feelings or visual imagery that the music elicits - not the kind of feelings/imagery that you think it should elicit (because some critic said it should), but what you actually feel. Hopefully something will come out of that. If it doesn't it's also fine.
Some advice for appreciating both genres:
- Do some learning about the functions of the music you're listening to; both jazz and classical music spans an enormous range of human musical expression and serves a huge range of needs, so knowing whether the music you're listening to was written for direct entertainment, background music at a party, the soundtrack for a play, or as a form of social interaction in itself can help to appreciate the music.
- Similarly, gain some understanding of the traditional forms and formats of the music. For classical, if you have some understanding of the mass, the sonata, the concerto and the fugue, you'll be able to learn to recognize and appreciate more what the composers are trying to do. For jazz, if you can pick up on the 12-bar blues, you'll learn to hear it everywhere. Either way, the forms help you build a pattern recognition that you likely already have for pop.
Lastly, both jazz and classical music are much more accessible from an entertainment perspective in their early forms than their later forms. If you start out listening to Bach and Louie Armstrong, it's a lot easier to build up to Schoenberg and Miles Davis than the other way around.
Edit: additionally, you might enjoy some more melodically focused players like Julian Lage. I’d highly recommend his album Gladwell as a starting point.
His music theory analyses may not be wanted/useful for non-musicians, but he’s very good at communicating what makes a given song/artist special.