When this opened a few years ago, I had much higher expectations from a museum that was so highly anticipated and talked about. It's cool, to be sure, but admission is a whopping $20, so the mission statement about music education is a little suspect. There is a ton to see and experience, no matter what kind of music you prefer. The collection is enormous, but not all of it will interest you. A lot of it is pretty junky and it's impossible to get to everything in a single visit.
I was there recently and was actually impressed with two of the temporary exhibits: Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix and one of the first hip-hop displays I've ever seen. The curators (or whatever?) do a great job with the temp stuff. Some of the photos were amazing. Since I wasn't around in the 1960s, I felt like I came away with a clearer perspective.
If you're visiting Seattle, you can skip EMP unless you're a huge music fan willing to shell out $20 to go a so-so museum.
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