Your method for discovering great music.
I'm in a slump. It has been a while since I've discovered new music that I really like. And when I say "new" I mean new to me. Maybe even rediscovered would count as new.
I do not have a method. I usually stumble into new music that I like. I also don't have loads of hours to sort through tons of stuff I don't like. Plus I find that random sort of pursuit to be frustrating and unrewarding most of the time.
Amazon Music had half decent 'recommended for you' lists but I don't recall if that ever paid off. I use Qobuz now which sucks in that particular department.
I've found a few bands that I like from recommendations here at Audiogon but I have not been here much lately.
So I'm curious as to how some of you approach that search for great music that is either actually new, new to you or rediscovered.
Finding new music is a journey. I find myself trying the music used in equipment reviews doing internet searches for the best "music type" and I even find music used it movies and TV shows. If you are into female vocals one of the best resources I've found is https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/female-vocals-stunning-recordings-you-love.84/ Happy hunting |
Now with streaming, it is amazing…. Other albums by artists I love, newly released albums by genera… I choose the genera I am in the mood for… Jazz, world, electronic, Blues, rock… etc. Then, like in Qobuz… Qobuz favorites, most listened to. It is endless. You really want to blow your mind go to Internet radio stations… Bosnian Jazz, Swedish reggae… there are thousands of internet radio stations |
I've found more new music in the last 5 years, than in the previous 15-20. For me, it's Radio Paradise (main mix) and Spotify Discover Weekly. Also, there are 3-4 very active music threads here on AudiogoN that have been very valuable in that respect. Do you have Spotify? Maybe I can make my "Discovered" playlist public so you can leverage it. It has grown to 283 tracks, 20 hours of music. Most tracks are new discoveries, but there are a few rediscovered treasures. |
I do not have Spotify. I used to rely on radio too. But it is pretty stagnant in this radio market. Have not explored internet radio much. @danager What got me thinking about this is my wife and I just watched a movie called High Fidelity with John Cusack and Jack Black. It was about a guy who owned a vinyl store and there was a lot of dialogue about obscure music. The music credits were helpful. As I type this I'm listening to St. Paul and the Broken Bones new album. Totally new direction from them. Sounds A LOT like Alabama Shakes second album which I had mixed feelings about. I'm kind of enjoying this but it is severely dynamically compressed (just like everything Alabama Shakes released) and I'm having a hard time getting past that. |
@n80 - Do you have "The Internet"? 🤣 If so, you can get Spotify. It's free w/ads. I pay for the premium service. Also, Radio Paradise is an internet radio station. It's user supported, so free, unless you love it and decide to send them some money. It's really good, so I send them some money every couple of years. You're really missing out on discovery if you're not using the readily available resources. I'm happy to help if you need it. |
@reubent What is this internet you speak of? I can certainly check out Spotify but Radio Paradise sounds more my speed. |
@n80 - Radio Paradise is really good. Like a cool radio station from back in the day, but you can skip over stuff you don't like. Also, they stream in resolution up to FLAC (highest lossless resolution), so it sounds really great. Spotify is good, because you can play whatever you want. And, after a while, it's algorithm "knows" what you like and makes recommendations based on what you've played, or "liked". Also, the algorithm changes if/when you change styles. Another good feature is that it will continue to play after whatever you choose, so it will continue to play similar music once your selection is done. Great stuff! Also,are you keeping an eye on the "What's playing on your turntable tonight", "What's playing on your system tonight", "What are you streaming tonight", "What's playing on your CD Player (The minority report") and "Song of the day" threads on AudiogoN? Great stuff mentioned there... |
Hmmm opinions are like what @jim5559 ? Yep |
Reading jazz encyclopedia, finding interesting names and albums, than trying to listen those albums on ytube, than l if I like them, looking for interesting sidemen playing on those albums and than looking for their albums too and than their sidemens...you get the drift. Prefer cold winter nights for doing that. Sometimes if I find some good music on ytube, continue to explore the same chanel, if its made by some jazz enthuziast...and obviously, no pc audio of any kind... |
Amazon search,…..complete box search, or those great 5 cd sets for 10-13$ original album classics.
If price is right, I will buy,
I’m a diehard metalhead, but some of these odd band sets are too good to pass. If it looks good buy it. expanded the library quite a bunch past few years. Too many to list |
Roon suggests different artists based on what one is listening to and the radio feature plays tracks based in the sound profiles you like. I use Qobuz so my discoveries are almost unlimited. Unfortunately Roon is subject to problems and becomes a “self help” paid for service. If you are a network engineer or love digging through their forum for answers more power to you. i just want to play and discover music. Roon has been down for me over a week and after posting my issue (more like their issue that’s affecting me) I got 1 reply from Roon and after posting almost immediately my reply no further help has been given !!! |
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- The What's On Your Turntable Tonight? thread here on Audiogon. - The VC (Vinyl Community) videos on YouTube. - The No Depression website. - Interviews with artists, who mention others. - The credits on albums. Brian Wilson led me to Van Dyke Parks, Van Dyke led me to Randy Newman, Randy led me to Ry Cooder, Ry led me to John Hiatt, etc. |
I read classical and jazz threads here in audiogon... I like to READ why someone enjoy some music and not only listen to the music first... Why? Because i like to explore out of my first reflex personal taste... Then i prefer reading about music before listening to it or during my first listening .... If not, i will entertain only my innate or acquired actual taste... Reading why someone like this or that can awake some unknown fiber in my brain/soul/heart... I discovered this way, persian music, indian music and more... My first persian music was a discarded bad recording of persian tanbur album.. The one who own it discard it to me saying that it was horrible music with horrible sound.. For an unexperimented north american ears it was not false... 😁😊 But before listening to this album i read the text inside the cd... And to my suprise the great classical violonist Yehudi Menihin said that listening to this persian master of the tanbur was one of the greatest musical experience in his life... I was thinking why it is? Spiritual and rythmic, and harmonic, melodic consumed virtuosity in improvisation... I was stunned... Especially when i listened to this album for the first time and my first persian music album by this sufi master... the sound was not very good but it was listenable... But guess what? After 2 listening i was completely flabbergasted....I used this music to meditate time to time and i bought many others persian music on different instruments... Same for India... The rest is my personal musical history...
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I album surf and research, get tips from friends. I had a Qobuz account for a little while and found that it hit the bigger titles, but not the rare groove stuff in post-bop jazz. I think the process of discovery is itself quite rewarding and I enjoy doing the research as well as "the hunt" for a good copy. You learn something about the musicians, the genre and perhaps the cultural context in which they created. All fascinating to me, beyond the simple enjoyment of the music, performance and recording itself. |
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@aewarren Yes, I have a lot of great recorded music in my collection. And I do play a lot of it, well, a lot. But to me, that rarely represents a discovery or broadens my horizon any further than that music already has.
@mahgister I used to subscribe to a magazine called The Oxford American which was a southern art and culture magazine. Over the years it got predictably ideological to the point of being a cliche' and I stopped subscribing but every year they came out with the music edition. That edition included a CD of various artists from the south across all genres. Some were extremely obscure and some were superstars. The magazine would have articles about all of the artists and songs on the CD. In the late 90s and early 2000s these CDs and magazines greatly broadened my musical horizons. I still pick up the yearly music edition from time to time. It has been a few years though. Not sure you still get an actual CD. I have 15 or twenty years worth of those CDs and they are priceless. In fact, some of them that are hard to find are fetching silly amounts of money. |
I search one online using Apple Music, using Old blues artists and then search on their more popular songs. For example, Howling Wolf wrote Smokestack Lightening and many artists covered it. I listened to a variety of the. The same with Woodstock, searched on that song. Eva Cassidy has an amazing version. Ian attention to the favorites of others who have similar musical tastes to my own to mine their preferences. It makes for an interesting journey. |
In my case, Tidal has created seven "My Mix" old school R&B and contemporary Jazz playlists that contain some of the music in Tidal playlists that I've created; additional music that I've heard or have not in a Tidal playlist; and some new music songs. Tidal Radio is also good for finding new music, but sometimes it is hit or miss for a song that I like. |
The usual places I look to for new (to me) music are Apple, Spotify and Shazam but the Best source I found started when I got involved with an Unofficial Vinyl Club. Periodically, over the past five years or so, we get together at irregular times (usually once a month, but Covid has made that difficult until recently) to listen to the Hosts system and music. Venues are usually some one's Listening Room although, we have had outings to Live Music (Cinematic Orchestra, King Crimson, Dead Can Dance etc...) and even The Audio Show in Toronto a few years back. When at some one's home rules: BYOB (in moderation if at all), no smoking indoors, no spouses, no pets, no snacks and early start and finish times are the Norm. Usually, a few guys bring Recordings of Special Note. There is a Pool of about 12 individuals and events are typically 2 to 8 of those people. But the exchange of Musical information and discussions around members collections, re-collections and experiences leads to some real interesting "discoveries". Try seeking out Like Minded individuals or Groups to broaden your musical horizons....
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'New Music'......oh 'k.... I stumbled into this attachment today.... Some may pull a Monty Python Holy Grail 'run away!' from it. It does express some 'observations' in a 'crude fashion' about 'where humanity is at' or heading.... You can always 'mute' and just read the lyrics... But New? You betcha', Pilgrim. Proper enjoyment is Loud. Adjust accordingly.... ;) You've been 'Mirandaed'.
Any questions? Ask yourself. Love, J |
2 things I do… 1. I check out the bargain bins at the local record shops, I take my chances if the cover looks interesting…I’ll do a quick Google search while there and see if any videos or mp3’s come up that I can hear a quick sample and if I think I’ll dig it, I’ll buy it… worse comes to worse, I’ll sell it back or trade it in on my next visit. You’d be surprised what you’ll find. 2. I’ve started to listen to artists I wrote off on when I was younger being I felt I was too cool to listen to such artists… Man did I miss out on such good music and live concerts that I’d kill to see, nope but I was too cool. … I really don’t listen to the stuff I thought was cool back then unless it comes up on a random mix… I mean seriously how many times can you listen to Stairway to Heaven or Money, good stuff just burnt out / overplayed and just doesn’t scratch the itch anymore. Also you have to decide are you listening to the music or how your speakers / system sounds because that’s a whole other issue. I now have gotten into Blues, Jazz, Big Band, Smooth Jazz, Reggae,as well as the artists I passed up on in the past and especially Live Recordings, brings a whole new dynamic especially if recorded well. |
I love to find new artists and groups. Streaming is the best way I have found. I have used the premium services of Tital, Spotify, Apple Music, and Qobuz. The best for finding new artists IMO is Spotify, unfortunately they have not moved into high resolution. I settled for Qobuz, but as stated above, they suck for finding new artists via any AI applications, it is not easy to share songs nor playlists, but they sure do have the high res thing down!!! I’m going to subscribe to Spotify as well as Qobuz, just to be able to access Spotify’s “other artists you might like” feature. Plus thanks to this thread I’m going to investigate Radio Paradise. |
Streaming is one tool I use to discover or trial run so to speak new music. When I hear something I like, I seek a hard copy of it, be it an LP, CD, or Cassette....other than that, I buy on impulse and take a gamble on a purchase from either eBay or discogs...I'm a sucker for a nice looking album cover, especially cheese cake, which I have many. |
I agree with the OP that streaming solutions work best for more casual fans. The software is trying to figure out what you like and give you similar content. Great if you're fine walking in place, but if you're searching, it's best to seize the initiative. The last couple of years have been hard for those of us that rely on a steady diet of live music to bring us new artists, and the chance to watch them mature. I've been forced to use the Web more - and there is a lot out there! Here's afew suggestions:
Jazz seems to have done a great job transitioning to pandemic living. Check out the Jazz at the Lincoln Center website. They stream a fair number of concerts from Dizzy's, Swing U provides an inexhaustible amount of educational material. If you like jazz at all, you MUST at least check out a few of the Closer Listening sessions - the amount of jazz knowledge the host has is jaw-dropping amazing (also a frequent teacher at Swing U). It's free (but please contribute - the cause is music!) and if you enjoy a curated exposure to music, you'll be signing up for Swing U. SFJazz offers a $50/year digital membership that gives you a livestream concert every Friday at 7:30pm PDT (re-broadcast at 11am Saturday). Maybe the best deal on the entire World Wide Web. The price/concert is so low that you may find yourself drooling on the donate button/! I gotta go, but if you like or want to explore bluegrass, check out Bluegrass Situation and Wintergrass (their annual festival is at the end of February and they're livestreaming everyday from the largest of the venues). Some of the big bluegrass festivals livestreamed last year, like Rockygrass & Telluride. |
I love smooth jazz and have a subscription to jazzradio.com, which also has very specific subtypes. My favorite subtype is the 'smooth uptempo', to which I listen a LOT. I learned almost all the new artists and songs by listening to that station. I am sure there are LOTS of radio stations alike for other genres of music.
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Searching for new music is my favourite thing to do with streaming. With a good app (I use Auralic Lightning DS) it becomes a journey from one artist which has recommendations of similar and down the rabbit hole you go. I find with the huge amount of music, I will just play the opening 20 seconds of a couple of songs on an album and if I like the flavour that album goes into my favourites. I spend an evening doing that until I have a load of music I haven’t properly listened to yet, but sounded promising. Then the next evening I’ll sit and play those albums properly and delete those that I’m not into and keep those I am, hey presto I’ve just added 3 albums to my collection. Aside from that, I will listen to YouTube mix’s and Shazam certain songs, or music in hifi demo videos, on tv or noted in print reviews. If it’s individual songs, wherever I am I’ll save them into my ‘test’ Qobuz or Tidal playlist, again ready to listen to properly at a later time. I don’t use the providers streaming apps much (other than to add songs when I’m out) as most of my listening is at home, but I remember when Spotify was my go to I would find lots of new tracks when it would continue playing at the end of your playlist. For me though, finding new music takes the time spent doing it, I don’t think there is a simple way of having it served up. So I’d suggest dedicating 1 or 2 hours a week looking through artists and listening to snippets to build a catalogue of ‘potential’ new music before doing the critical listening, that has been the fastest way I have grown my digital collection. |
I use Roon often for this. I'll pick a song at the end of an album from an artist and the genre I am interested in. I make sure that I have Roon Radio checked as Yes. Then Roon just chooses music of the same genre & style, within reason. The great thing is that Roon choses HiRez tracks that all sound great. Found so many wonderful recording this way. Some, not so much, but other have been added to my collection, via Roon. |
