How Do You Discover New Music?

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crusader8463

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#1  Edited By crusader8463

I have never been a big music guy. For pretty much my entire life, with an exception in my early teens when I became addicted to watching Much Music all day long, the only music I heard was what got played on the radio. I have never just sat and listened to music before and have never tried to look for music beyond hearing a song on TV, or in a movie, and then finding it online somewhere. Due to this I find myself where I'm at now. I have recently started playing some games with a few friends where listening to music in the background helps pass the time while I wait for my turn to come around, but I find myself getting tired of the songs in my music library. No matter how I sort or randomize my play list I keep hearing the same couple a dozen songs again, and again, and again, and it's driving me nuts! So I'm hoping that if I can get a bigger library of music then it will be less likely that I will hear the same songs repeatedly.
 
As for my taste in music, I'm not one of those "I only listen to genre X because it's awesome and everything else is stupid!" kind of people. If I like the way it sounds, the beat or the lyrics then I will keep listening to it. Although as a general rule of thumb I actively dislike rap music, but there have been a rare few rap songs that I liked. I tend to prefer very vocal and lyric heavy music. Some of the few bands/singers that have more then one song I like are: Empire of the Sun, Scissor Sisters, Gorillaz, Tenacious D, Weird Al, and Johnny Cash. At the same time though I have dozens of different groups/artists that have one or two songs that I like. Groups/artists like: System of a Down, Queen, Powerman 5000, Marilyn Manson, Eminem, Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, Auto Dropouts, AC/DC, Ozzy, Blue Oyster Cult etc etc. I have tried listening to dozens of their other songs but all but a few hold no interest to me.
 
So how do you find new music to listen to? Where do you go to look? A large portion of my music I found around a year ago while listening to split infinity radio, but even that has stopped being useful for a source of new music for me since it's gotten to the point where it's about 40% of the songs I already have and 60% of crap I cannot stand.
 
Help me Giantbomb community, you're my only hope!

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zanzibarbreeze

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#2  Edited By zanzibarbreeze
Grooveshark. Add music you like to the playlist and then use the radio feature. Some of it will be good, some of it will be bad, but it should help you find stuff you haven't heard before.
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GrandpaJelly

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#3  Edited By GrandpaJelly

Pandora. Absolutepunk.net and peoples shirts.

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vidiot

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#4  Edited By vidiot

Friends.
I know a stupid generic answer, but it's true.
 
On my own, I go to a few websites. I usually go to Pitchfork and check what's new-ish. Ask people who sell music what they like. 
Easy answers but what works, works.

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crusader8463

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#5  Edited By crusader8463
@ZanzibarBreeze said:

" Grooveshark. Add music you like to the playlist and then use the radio feature. Some of it will be good, some of it will be bad, but it should help you find stuff you haven't heard before. "

How does that work? I made an account and added ten or so songs to the playlist. How do I get more? The radio button? Do I need to keep a list there or will it keep track of songs I like and dislike and suggest new ones based on that?
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CornontheCobbe

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#6  Edited By CornontheCobbe
@vidiot said:
" Friends.
I know a stupid generic answer, but it's true.
 
On my own, I go to a few websites. I usually go to Pitchfork and check what's new-ish. Ask people who sell music what they like. 
Easy answers but what works, works. "
It's true! Most of the good music I discover is unveiled by my friends.
 
Sometimes, I'll just search random words on YouTube, like "Punk Rock" and I'll be engulfed by bands and genres i have never heard before. From there it sometimes stems to some of my favorite bands.
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sjupp

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#7  Edited By sjupp

Dave is a pretty good music source. Just follow him on twitter. luls.

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Hot_Karl

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#8  Edited By Hot_Karl

Sometimes friends, sometimes Pitchfork, mostly just recommendations/sales from Amazon or exceedingly high ratings on Metacritic will persuade me to buy something new. I just about know what I like and what will fall into those boundaries however, so I doubt that my music taste will change all that much now.

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dustbunny

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#9  Edited By dustbunny

The easiest way is to ask your friends for suggestions. Just borrow someones mp3 player and see what you like. Downloading soundtracks from movies and games is also a good idea.

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psyborg0815

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#10  Edited By psyborg0815

Related videos on Youtube and I found my favorite band through a random post on a forum.

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apertura

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#11  Edited By apertura

I listen to stuff that comes on my friends' Spotify playlists.

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AhmadMetallic

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#12  Edited By AhmadMetallic
@crusader8463:   
 
  1. ask weird people about their favorite music 
  2. surf Last.fm for 30 minutes and you'll get too much new and varied music for you to handle
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CocaineMountaineer

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mainly through labels i trust or brainwashed.com

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MrOldboy

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#14  Edited By MrOldboy

I'll usually just surf the web. I dont really like the sites that try to give you music it thinks you'll like based on your past stuff. I want to see every option not just the genre most of my music is. I'll usually find a new band or artist just by looking for new music from the ones I like already. You'd be surprised by how many bands you can find just by going from wikipedia page to page every person links to another. type those into youtube and see waht pops up.

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Shadow

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#15  Edited By Shadow

Pandora and whatever I happen to hear elsewhere

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Meltac

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#16  Edited By Meltac

Different sites, and in general just forums.

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Dr_Feelgood38

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#17  Edited By Dr_Feelgood38

A lot of different ways. Friends, family, Grooveshark, Pandora, SHOUTcast Radio, Last.fm, PitchFork, even Twitter. Happy hunting.

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yoyokid

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#18  Edited By yoyokid

go to newbury comics and talk to people look around pick up some music from the wicked cheap bin thats how i usally find new music cause its under 5 bucks or so. theres no real fear of not liking and dropping alot of money. that's how i usually do it or just search itunes for music genre that ur interested in. 

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markini6

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#19  Edited By markini6
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c1337us

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#20  Edited By c1337us

By accident usually.

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simian

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#21  Edited By simian

For awhile BetterPropaganda was what I used to find new music but it started to end up more suck then awesome.
Nowadays it's pretty much word of mouth from my friends and, while it pains me to admit it, some games. Case in point whlie Brutal Legend may not have been the best of games, the soundtrack was pretty badass and introduced me to some smaller metal acts I hadn't heard of before (3" of Blood).
Also sometimes local papers (The Georgia Straight here in Vancouver, The Stranger in Seattle) can turn up some local gems.

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KimChi4U

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#22  Edited By KimChi4U

New Music? I haven't downloaded/listened to anything produced after 2001. Living in small town Korea where K Pop rules will do that to you.
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randiolo

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#23  Edited By randiolo

leave the house. talk to people.  works every time. 

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davidwitten22

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#24  Edited By davidwitten22

Blogs Blogs Blogs. I got a radio show at school last semester that was Pop Punk and Alt. Rock. I had very few Pop Punk songs on my iPod at that point, so I went searching and found a blog that had the Dude-core form of pop punk that I really enjoy and I found a ton of awesome bands that I really love there like the Wonder Years and With The Punches. 
 
Also, Pandora is fine, Myspace is fine, Groveshark is awesome but it's usually better for songs you already know.

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zyte

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#25  Edited By zyte

I simply ask my friend who listen to 30 different metal bands.

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phrosnite

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#26  Edited By phrosnite

I don't listen to music often...

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penguindust

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#27  Edited By penguindust
Pandora is good because you enter a group you like and it will mix in music that is similar.  I've also found that if you buy stuff from Itunes, their recommendations eventually turn out to be worthwhile.  Finally, I'm not sure if it is available in your household, but cable and satellite TV often come packaged with genre specific radio stations.  I find that those are an excellent source, too.  I'm not sure if it would help you while playing a game, though.  Oh, and then there is research.  Basically, pick a band you like, look up what influences they had, and then seek out music from those artists.
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apertura

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#28  Edited By apertura
@phrosnite said:
" I don't listen to music often... "
waht
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armaan8014

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#29  Edited By armaan8014
@crusader8463: 
Hey I like Scissor Sisters too!  A FIFA game introduced me to them. I usually get more albums and songs of an artist whose song I may have come across and loved. And sometimes I check out people's recommendations.
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deactivated-5f00787182625

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related artists bar on Spotify.

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SumDeus

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#31  Edited By SumDeus

My friends and I don't have the same taste in music, so I usually just stumble across things on my own. Luckily my girlfriend knows some good music I've never heard.

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Karl_Boss

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#32  Edited By Karl_Boss

Wikipedia mostly

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xMP44x

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#33  Edited By xMP44x

Honestly, I look on Last.FM for my new music. I also check the charts here in the UK occasionally, because much of the stuff on them does not appeal. Sometimes, there are some great things on the charts here, but for the most part there are not. Check on Last.FM for artists similar to an artist you already like and you'll get plenty of recommendations. If you have Facebook, check a friend's Facebook information and see what artists they have down for their music section. Alright, not all of them will be similar to what you like, but it'll give you a good way to get some more music.

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Jaserno

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#34  Edited By Jaserno

Last.fm

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Dysnomia

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#35  Edited By Dysnomia

Through friends, family and a YouTube channel I subscribe to.

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Sticky_Pennies

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#36  Edited By Sticky_Pennies

Grooveshark, Last.fm, and the Zune Software's related artists and "picks."

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Icil

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#37  Edited By Icil
http://music-map.com/  
Type in bands you like, search by proximity. 
 
Then I wiki the band and read some reviews. 
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kishan6

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#38  Edited By kishan6

pandora 
and underground hip hop . com

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striderno9

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#39  Edited By striderno9

Totally accident, I use Shazam a lot when i go out. I tend to find music videos I like also.

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Marmaladebrat

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#40  Edited By Marmaladebrat

I listen to last.fm and it will play new stuff similar to stuff I already like. I have found some interesting stuff like Late of the Pier and other like that. I also will read Pitchfork on occasion.
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ryoma122

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#41  Edited By ryoma122

anime amvs

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Arbie

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#42  Edited By Arbie

Spotify and last.fm, oh and also threads like this one and the metal one that recently appeared. I'll be checking out some of the sites listed on here.

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guiseppe

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#43  Edited By guiseppe

Spotify and friends most of the time.

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tomance

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#44  Edited By tomance

I listen to a lot of trance and house music.  Most of the time I just stumble upon it.  I may be listening to a remix to an artist I know then look up the remixer and start listening to his original stuff.  I'll also listen to podcasts like Tiesto's club life and trance around the world.  If I'm liking a song I'll just look it up.  

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JonathanMoore

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#45  Edited By JonathanMoore

I pick an Artist, go through the Artist's Discography, then go to another Artist. Generally Hip-Hop.

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OutOfBounds9000

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#46  Edited By OutOfBounds9000

 
Radio.Radio.

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Make_Me_Mad

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#47  Edited By Make_Me_Mad

Last.fm mostly.  Whenever I start feeling bored I'll just select someone's profile that has low~medium compatibility with mine and see if anything sticks out at me.

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Out_On_Bail

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#48  Edited By Out_On_Bail
@Icil said:

" http://music-map.com/  Type in bands you like, search by proximity.  Then I wiki the band and read some reviews.  "

this is a very cool website.  
 
As for the OP's question, the greatest music is the stuff that finds you. Pandora is great for this. Just put in an artist of the genre you like and let the good time's roll.  Once you hear a song you like, then go find some more from that artist.  Shazam is also a handy app to have if you have a phone capable of that. Hear a good song at the store? Use Shazam and tag it, then you'll know who to search for later once your back at your computer.
 
Luckily for you, there is aton of amazing music out there. Don't limit yourself to popular music either, check out some local unsigned bands. Some of my favorite bands aren't even signed yet. Good luck on your journey. Music is amazing!
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Dauragon

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#49  Edited By Dauragon

Last FM, Pandora, having lots of friends who are musicians. 

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ArchScabby

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#50  Edited By ArchScabby

I used to use Pandora, but now I mostly use Last.fm.  I know a lot of people prefer Pandora though, can somebody tell me why, because Last.fm seems better in every way.