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.
Great thread OP!!! Do you listen to vinyl or CD? Well, even if you don't, I do like Discogs for research. I like to look at granular facts about an album, like where it was recorded, record label, release data, who mastered it and so on. Discogs lets you link right to other albums, for example, that might be mastered by the same people. I use Roon with Qobuz in the background. It is better than Tidal, Qobuz or Spotify on their own because it lets you get more information about the music. I highly recommend playing with the features in Discogs. |
@curiousjim I would have taken the risk on that box of CDs too! @jbhiller I am a CD guy. I've got some vinyl but not much. My typical process is to find stuff I like and then buy it on CD. I've slowed down on that a little but if its something really good I get the CD. I have used Discogs in the past. I also consult the Dynamic Range database. My ears are far from golden and I'm not super picky about SQ but compressed DR ruins a recording for me for anywhere but the car or ear buds. |
I’d second and third streaming services for discovery with my primary being Spotify discover weekly and release radar, also selecting a song in Spotify you really like and going to the “radio” playlist for that song has generated a lot of new discoveries for me. I’ll add onto recommendations though as well, find a couple of Acquaintances that are into music and join musicleague.app it’s a website, soon to be app where you have a group of people that submit songs based on a chosen topic/category(songs from 1972, songs with body parts in them etc…) and then Everyone votes on their favorite songs and can comment what they like/dislike about the songs. The website/apps keeps tally of the votes so you have a point system for keeping track of who is winning:losing etc… it’s extremely addictive, especially for those that are competitive or think they have “good music taste”. I’ve been using it with two different groups of people for about the last year and my musical libarary has expanded significantly! Not only from songs others have shared but also in doing “research” for songs that might fit the category for that round. If some folks would like to try it out and don’t have others to create a league with, reach out to me as we occasionally look for others to join our various leagues as people decide to drop out. The only “limitation” to music league I know of right now is it only works with songs that are in the Spotify library, but with the “free” option being available it’s not too much of a limitation for those that aren’t in the Spotify userverse. |
