A new global study led by the University of Jyväskylä reveals that our most emotionally resonant music tends to come from our teenage years—peaking around age 17. This pronounced pattern, known as the “reminiscence bump”, reflects our tendency to form the strongest emotional ties to music from our teenage years.
The “reminiscence bump” helps explain why songs from adolescence often remain deeply meaningful even decades later. Yet the pattern isn’t fixed: its intensity shifts across the lifespan and reveals different trends for men and women.
The study led by researchers at the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) drew responses from nearly 2,000 participants from 84 countries. The participants were asked to identify a piece of music that held profound personal meaning for them.
Music shapes identity
According to Dr. Iballa Burunat, the lead author of the study, the reminiscence bump for music exists because it hits a perfect neurological and biographical sweet spot.
“Think of the adolescent brain as a sponge, supercharged by curiosity and a craving for reward, but without a fully developed filter. And it's because it’s still maturing that our strong emotional experiences, such as the songs we love, get absorbed more deeply and vividly, and leave a lasting impression; so the persistence of this reminiscence effect just shows how fundamental music is in identity formation.”
A surprising gender divide in musical memory
The research found that in men, the reminiscence bump peaked earlier, around age 16, while in women the peak came later, after age 19. "As we do not have rich qualitative data from the participants, we can only speculate based on previous work on psychology and gender differences," Burunat notes.
Psychology research suggests that men often cement their musical identity earlier through adolescent bonding and independence. Women’s musical identity, by contrast, develops over a longer period, shaped by emotional connections and relationship milestones into young adulthood, a pattern often reinforced for women by society. This could explain why women’s strongest music memories peak slightly later.
Music genres also matters
Another key factor may be the musical genres themselves. Men often gravitate toward intense, rebellious genres that fuel teenage identity and independence—a phase that peaks early. Women, however, tend to engage with a wider spectrum of music, from pop to soul to classical, often using it also as a tool for strengthening social bonds. These broader purposes extend well beyond the teenage years and are often tied to vivid memories of specific social moments and relationships and may therefore contribute to a later peak in musical memory.
Music evolves with us through the lifespan
The study also shows that our connection to music continues to evolve throughout life – and differently for men and women. “Our data clearly shows that for men, music from adolescence becomes a lasting anchor for personal meaning, a finding that could be explained by society’s focus on youth and rebellion in shaping masculine identity”, explains Dr. Burunat. “Conversely, for women, the connection to music tends to shift over time, particularly starting in their mid-forties onward, as they commonly use music as a flexible tool for emotional expression and social bonding throughout their lives. This may explain why their most meaningful musical connections often shift to recent songs tied to current relationships, personal growth, or new experiences, sometimes even holding more emotional weight than the music from their youth.”
But there’s a twist that defies generational boundaries: younger listeners, both men and women, often form deep connections to music released decades before they were born—typically from about 25 years earlier. Researchers term this phenomenon the "cascading reminiscence bump," and they believe it reflects strong cross-generational influence, likely shaped by music introduced by parents, family, or enduring cultural icons from earlier eras.
From your dad’s favorite classic rock tune, through the 90’s hip-hop that defined your youth, to the recent pop song that got you through a tough time, music remains one of the most powerful tools we have for connecting to our past.
“I think it helps to think of music like a scent: it bypasses our brain’s language centers and brings a past moment to life in a non-verbal, immediate way”, Burunat explains.
“But unlike a smell, music unfolds over time. Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline. And it’s this extraordinary combination that allows music to act as both a time machine and a storyteller, helping us recall not just a feeling but the entire context of an event”.
“What our findings make clear is that music is far more than just entertainment”, Burunat concludes. Undoubtedly, music is an archive of our most meaningful memories and, ultimately, a foundation for our sense of self because it tells the story of who we are, who we were, and how we’ve grown.
Explore the interactive chart of the musical memory landscape across the lifespan here