hypothetical audience tastemakers - C/D?

I wouldn't say that imagining listening from someone else's point of view affects what I buy, but it often does affect how I hear a particular recording. A lot of times, when I am thinking of loaning someone a CD, I will try to listen to it the way I think they might listen to it. Often I don't like it as much when I do that, I guess because I am usually loaning things out to people who aren't necessarily big fans of the music I am loaning out. But anyway, I find it peculiar that imagining myself as a different listener would have that much impact on how I hear something.