In the old days, Last.fm was good for discovering music I might like based on what I listen to.

Nowadays I have this method (hear me out) that consists of drinking a bit too much, listening to favorites on YouTube and opening multiple tabs with what I suspect are good suggestions. This leads me into multiple rabbit holes where I occasionally strike gold.

Mid 40s here - I mostly listen to stuff I’m already familiar with (albeit a pretty wide range, or at least I think so), and/or stuff which is from the same eras/genres/etc, particularly if it’s something acknowledged as influential on something else I know I like

Eg 1 - I’m a huge R.E.M. fan, and via them I discovered (some time ago, admittedly) artists like Patti Smith, the Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, etc.

Eg 2 - I am very much into house/techno, and have discovered so much great stuff old and new via a regular recommendations event on BlueSky (#RaveyardShift, Saturday nights from about 10pm, UK time, if anyone is interested!)

Eg 3 Although I don’t do this so much any more, I found that getting Tidal to generate a radio station based on a single song I like is often a great way to discover other great music in that genre whether it’s funk/soul, hip hop, post punk or whatever.

In all of the above, almost none of it is new… but it’s usually new to me, and that’s good enough.

I used to worry that I wasn’t keeping up with new music, but after a while I realised that that’s ok - there’s really no need to worry about that as it’s literally impossible to hear everything, so just find stuff you enjoy, let others do the same and don’t worry about it.

As an aside, I’m not religious at all, but I’ve long had this concept of “heaven” as a place where you simply have the time and resources to experience EVERYTHING you could ever want to. Every song, every movie, every flavour, every sensation, etc.

That’d be kind of cool. Although I’m conscious that that’s the Côtes du Rhône talking… 😁🍷

I don’t.

I keep to the Spotify 90s and 2000 mix

Public/college radio broad cast. Also never fell for mainstream data traps and apps. These broad casts stream for free from their websites and have corresponding spinatron links for playlists. May I recommend: WWOZ new orleans or WMUH Allentown

That’s pretty much all you need. For world music Try putumayo world music hour on ever weekday around noon on WMUH for a great source of curated world music by region. For a deep dive on world music there is a crazy detailed World Journey with Logan on Saturday on WWOZ.

Also for fun some times I write down stuff I like with a pad and pen, then promptly lose said notes.

I have eclectic taste in music. Mostly I give thanks for streaming services and radio - back when we had to buy albums I got literal anxiety because there was simply no possible way I could get even 1% of what I liked, and the thought of cataloguing it also oppressed me.

So -

I do read Brooklyn Vegan occasionally for stuff I might not have heard of, and tours, Pitchfork for live versions of songs.

I also let the streaming algorithm have its way with my playlist often, when not listening to a whole album. And I listen to radio (literal FM community radio) shows I like, and sometimes my kids scoop me on some artist they think I will like. And understand that the universe of music I might enjoy is blessedly so large I will not get to the end of it.

Oh and I go to concerts - often I have found bands because they opened for someone I went to see.

I use the streaming service qobuz, which have curated playlists and “albums of the week”. It allows me to discover new styles or artists that I never thought much about. Sometimes it’s a miss, but that’s depending on taste. Also, the sound quality is really good if you have the hardware required.

I originally subscribed to Spotify because its suggested music playlist continuation after playing some songs you already liked was really good at finding stuff similar to what I wanted.

But it stopped being good at some point and I only keep it because I also haven’t been charged anything in 3 years now but still have premium service. 🤷‍♂️

By being picky and only actively seeking out my favorite genre.

I am fully involved with the music algorithm. I like that song!, clicks radio on it. Oh, this song is nice, clicks radio on that and so on.

I discover music from whatever service has the best algorithm to find what I enjoy. Sometimes it’s from amatures, sometimes it’s from unheard of artists. I rarely ever hear a song with over 100,000 plays, and I believe nobody but my mom thinks my music taste is good…

I use Plex for my music, which has a lot of mechanisms that help me process new stuff.

For example, I have a smart playlist that only plays things I haven’t heard in a year. This is my “Frontier” playlist to hear new things. As I listen, I rate stuff with stars.
From there, I then have smart playlists that only play highly rated things I haven’t heard in a week or two. Depending on my mood, I’ll either listen to my frontier playlist, or my liked playlist… with other playlists further scoping on genre as desired.

All these playlists filter out things that are lowly rated if I’ve heard them more than X times.

I generally shove anything/everything anyone recommends into the pot, which then naturally folds into my frontier playlist which then fold naturally into my liked playlists. I’ve discovered quite a lot of stuff I never would’ve predicted I’d like this way. From there, I’ll look at recommended artists from the bands I have and like and add those as well.

By ignoring about 99% of it.

I listen to music entirely based on what I already know and like, what I randomly stumble across, and what others recommend to me. Sometimes if I am at a bar and hear a song I like, I’ll ask the bartender what it is. This sort of thing. I don’t typically go searching and all the times I’ve tried it hasn’t gone great.

Anyway I have recommendations. Here are some bands that have been recommended to me and stuck with me for atleast a year:

• Reagan Youth
• Motorama (>5 years ago)
• Dead Kennedys
• Kino
• Kneecap
• Rage against the Machine (>5 years ago)

Anymore I let new music drift towards me rather than go searching for it. Occasionally yt, while I’m listening to another song, will suggest something that might catch my eye. That’s pretty rare, but it also keeps me from overcrowding myself on crummy music. It’s how I’ve found some absolutely amazing vocaloid songs like Step Forward by Machwolf and even pretty good covers of songs I like, like the EstyDK cover of メルト ( melt ).

I also sometimes find good music while playing rhythm games like the Hatsune Miku Project Diva series or OSU.

I follow a huge number of artists on Bandcamp which I mostly discovered through Chiptunes=WIN (which unfortunately seems to have erased itself from the internet), and the occasional collab album is enough to keep gradually discovering new artists.

I listen to the music I liked as a youngin: grunge, 90’s alternative, nu-metal, weird Al, and sea shanties.

I also watch and listen to the Eurovision Song Contest every year since I found it a few years ago. That gives me ~40 new artists every year that I might like. I follow a few favorites and see what else they’ve made. Watching some of the national final competitions gives me dozens more songs.