Back in the early 80's I was on a extremely tight budget (read allowance) and could only afford an LP, maybe two, each month or so. And for those of you who don't know, this was before the Internet existed. So there was no such thing as going to Amazon (or wherever) to listen to, and sample, a given recording before purchase.
The small record stores that were in my neighborhood would pop open a few new releases, but definitely not all. So oftentimes, the only place I heard any of the songs on a given record was on the radio. IF there was a hit song I liked, I might take the chance and buy the LP.
Generally, there was only one or two good songs and the rest would suck. Imagine spending a month's worth of allownce on a record (or two) and having the majority of it being very disappointing.
In those days, I would give each record four or five listens, hoping and praying that the songs would grow on me. They usually didn't.
Nowadays, I generally don't buy stuff that I haven't already skimmed through somewhere and know that I'll probably like. Unless, of course, the release is from some of my favorite artists, in which case the buy is almost automatic.
Long story short, I think how often someone listens to a recording before setting it in the "toss" pile depends largely on two things: Disposable income and the amount of music in their existing collection.