This is from Yusuf Islam's website:

At that time, his son, Muhammad, presented him with a life altering dilemma. He bashfully showed his father a proud new possession: a guitar! Yusuf was forced to reflect again on the issue of music and instruments. After years of inquiry and soul searching, Yusuf's doubts about the use of music within Islamic history and culture had lessened. He reached the conclusion that the evidence for banning instruments failed to meet Islamic Law's requirements for unquestioning acceptance. He wrote an article that explained his understanding of how the evidence allowed for different views on this issue. The Qur'an does not ever actually mention the word "music" or "instruments."

It was clear to him that the objective of branding music as makruh (disliked) or haram (forbidden) was based on juristic interpretation, probably in the desire to avoid frivolous and immoral songs, which were very much a reflection of what has universally come to be known as "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll."

Ironically, elsewhere on the website he tells how he was first drawn to Islam by hearing music in Marrakesh. When he enquired, he was told, "It is music for God".

I find it sad that so many interpretations of religion (and by no means only Islam) seem to object to anything which might give people pleasure. It is as if they are so concerned with the next life that they forget to make the most of this life. If you believe that this life is a gift from God, it seems strange to me not to make the most of what it offers, including music.