How to Find New Music

Here are five solid ways to increase your music base.

1. Pandora: The Music Genome Project

Pandora is an internet radio website that attempts to customize itself to your own unique tastes. You can enter an artist and create a radio station. Then, Pandora will play songs by said artist, and attempt to play songs by similar sounding artists. If you don't like what they play, tell them, and the program will adapt accordingly. You can only skip so many songs at one time, however, and using any streaming technology will drain internet bandwidth, so this might not be the best thing to use when you're at work.

2. Allmusic suggestions

Allmusic.com is a fantastic website for learning about your favorite artists, and how their music has been critically received. However, one of the site's overlooked features is its ability to find new music. You can go to your favorite artists and find their influences, as well as artists they have influenced. You can also track the history of a song, to see who else may have recorded one of your favorite tunes. Allmusic also sorts music by style, and this doesn't just mean whether it's rock or pop. You can find music ranging from the Dramatic to the Freewheeling, all at the click of a button.

3. Critic's Lists

Several times a year, popular magazines will release their list of the best new music of the year. Also, popular music-heavy magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin will put out articles like "500 Greatest Albums," or "Top Twenty-Five Punk Songs." While you may disagree with the lists, they are a good way to check out some music you've never heard before.

4. Check out the radio

While top forty stations still dominate traditional FM radio, there are plenty of interesting radio programs that crop up and receive airplay at strange times (Little Steven's Underground Garage is a good one of note). Also, Sirius radio has really expanded the reach of radio, with stations focusing on entire artists, and also programs put together by popular musicians. If you like Bob Dylan or Tom Petty, it might be worth checking out their shows to see what it is they themselves like.

5. Read about music

Either by reading a favorite artist's biography, or a book about a particular era, genre, album, even song, you can find out a lot of music just by the name dropping that occurs. Also, learning more about popular music's history is interesting in its own right (Did you know Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Mick Jones of the Clash almost formed a band?)

If you're hungry for something new to rock out to, use the above tips to locate new music, and you'll be jamming to new favorites in no time.

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