Help me discover some new music...

Duanegoosen:
I forgot to mention Zappa. I have a few of his LP's -- Sheikh Yerbouti and Apostrophe come to mind -- but my collection's not very deep. I sometimes have trouble getting past the 8th grade potty humor on those lp's, but the musicianship and creativity are undeniably brilliant.

Rock2kid, I would say that music scene today is far more divergent and is teeming with talent and innovation, then in the sixties and seventies.
There are tens of thousands of bands, and never has it been easier to listen and explore new music. You tube, Spotify , MoG, Rapsody, Sirrus etc.
Regarding your post , where are the next Rolling Stones, Elvis etc., my wife and I were discussing the new world of the music industry. There are few bands today playing stadiums like The Stones, Who and Zepplin did, but that does not mean that there are not many bands who can equal or surpass their talent in playing,recording, and touring. The musical climate dictates that many of these fantastic bands are not going to reach the stratospheric heights of these MEGA bands. So, the awesome bands of today, such as Wico, you will get to see in a small intimate theater that seats less than 2000 people. In my opinion there are alot of bands in the mix today that have the talent,creativity,and musical chops to equal the Mega bands of the sixties and seventies.

"Rock2kid, I would say that music scene today is far more divergent and is teeming with talent and innovation, then in the sixties and seventies."

I would tend to agree, or at least it is much easier to discover new talents and innovations, where they exist.

A lot of modern innovation is built around fusion of more traditional genres, like Steely Dan helped do with rock and jazz back in their day. That is a good thing and opens up a lot of new opportunities for talent to innovate and move in new directions!

Most of the traditional genres, including classic rock, have been beaten to death. THinking in terms of traditional "genres" can be a trap that limits ones exposure to new enjoyable music. Listen first, then categorize what you hear, not the reverse. That is something I used to do as a youth and am learning to do now again better than ever. Plus it all sounds better than ever on a good modern rig! There has never been a better time to be a music loving audiophile!

Avoid traps like "oh I don't like rap or electronic dance music" and never give any a try. You are armed and dangerous! Try it all first, then decide what is good or not.

These days, I listen to pretty much anything again, especially queued up randomly on my music server which I refer to as "mapman radio". Squezzebox even adds a nice fade-out/fade-in effect between tracks that keeps the music flowing. No need for record spinning DJs anymore. THe computer truly does a great job! I never know which of the thousands of tracks in dozens of genres will come up next. THat helps to avoid letting prior judgements or expectations affect what I listen to. There are very few tracks that I skip through. Of course, once you hear a movement from some symphony or some on off cut that you never heard before and like that strikes your fancy, you might want to play the whole album, though album listening now occupies a smaller % of my time than ever. A lot of good music tracks stand best alone.

There are some excellent ideas on this thread. As an avid music collector, I am the twisted individual who gave away 8 record crates of albums when I moved to NY to pursue a career only to replace the collection with cds as technology changed. I still have not fully embraced the download scene because I enjoy the tangible aspects of a cd package (artwork, liner notes,the full package). I admire most every style and genre of music. However, originality is the key to success for me. Here are a few sources of new music I have successfully used that have not been mentioned:
TV: Austin City Limits on PBS is a great forum for music. Set your Tivo now. Jools Holland is another show that has a diverse line up of new talent. Jools was the keyboard player for Squeeze and is a talented musician in his own right.
Homegrown Music Network: www.homegrownmusic.net is a consortium of independent labels that distribute for new bands. Good source for bluegrass, reggae, and college type bands. Their annual cd of the year is an automatic purchase for me.
Jambands.com is a website with record/concert reviews with a slant towards Grateful Dead type bands. They post the top 100 cd college radio playlist monthly. I am like an NFL coach looking at college offenses for new ideas. Jambands turned me onto Trombone Shorty,Tedeschi Trucks,and others this year.
Record labels: You will find that you share similar tastes to certain A&R reps on labels. www.bluerose-records.de is a German label that publishes several paisley underground and alt-country artists I enjoy. I got an excellent 3 cd set of Cracker Live at rockpalast from them this year. www.eagle-rock.com releases cds and dvds of classic rock artists including archival concerts from Peter Frampton, the Stones, ZZ Top, and many others. Deltagrooveproductions.com is a blues label that has some of the best blues artists today including Mitch Kashmar, Kirk Fletcher,and others.
www.livedownloads.com This is a download site where you can either order hard copy cd's or downloads from many participating artists.
Finally, don't forget we live in a global economy. You can just as easily order from Amazon UK vs. Amazon and sometimes save money and find unique items.

Jeff Buckley: Grace
Joni Mitchell: Blue, Ladies of the Canyon, or Court and Spark.
Elliot Smith: Either/Or