a friend who's a good listener[=who listens attentively and sympathetically]
Fanny, being always a very courteous listener, and often the only listener at hand, came in for the complaints and distresses of most of them. Jane Austen
The average concertgoer drifts in and out of the music, often losing the thread. The listener can't always hear the music in the music, and tends to notice only the most obvious (usually the loudest) events. David Schiff