This time of year, streaming services reveal our listening habits with a rundown of the year’s most played tracks. Hooray?!
Roundups from the likes of Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay are already available for 2022, and while they give an interesting insight into our listening behavior with their most played playlist, I can’t help but think they’re boring being presented with a playlist of tracks. audio that I’ve heard over and over over the past year.
Do I really need my music streaming service of choice to remind me how widespread my music tastes really are?
Spotify admits that the most-listened-to artists in 2022 are similar to last year, and with so many music options, I find it frustrating that my year-end playlist is full of tracks that have already been pushed to me by its algorithms.
Of course, I enjoy the soundtrack at the end of the year as much as the next one. But with so much music out there, I feel compelled to share with you about how refreshing my musical comfort zone is every now and then, finding alternative music to help me usher in a new era or genre rather than listening to the same kinds of music over and over again.
The Journey of the Unknown
The top music streaming services have their own version of Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist that takes advantage of your listening habits and offers a selection of new tracks based on the songs, artists, and genres you play most often. But there’s a lot of new music that gets overlooked by this kind of streaming algorithm, and I often find myself using more traditional search methods to cultivate my musical tastes, rather than sticking with “pay-to” streaming services for that music we think I’ll like.
Whatever your reason for wanting to break out of your music streaming comfort zone, read on for my suggestions to help you find new music outside of the algorithm that can help you discover your next new favorite song or band.
What are the best music sites for new music?
At this time of year, there are plenty of music sites compiling “best of” lists, covering every critically acclaimed track and album from respected music writers and reviewers, and these make a good starting point.
- The Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of 2022 It’s a great place to start if you’re looking to pick an alternative to the Year in Review from your subscription to the streaming service of choice. Although hopelessly corny, this is another great place to build your knowledge of respected albums from current and classic bands you may have overlooked. Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
- all music Beautifully presented, it lists the year’s best albums with art and a brief description that links to a longer review. Its lists aren’t in order, but check the alphabetical lists by genre or mood for featured songs and albums to track them down.
- Rate your music It promotes itself as one of the largest online music databases and communities, and is a respected source for discovering new music.
My best music sites to follow
Music fans haven’t had much of a choice when it comes to keeping up with new music and the latest ratings. There are hundreds of music blogs out there, but with so many options out there, it can be hard to know which sites are right for you. To help sort out the chaff, sound type He has a handy roundup of the best music blogs of the moment. Alternatively, my own suggestions, which coincidentally are also included in Audiohype’s menu, run to:
- Rolling Stone Probably the most famous rock magazine/blog site created in 1967. Although about 55 years old, it has stretched beyond its rock roots, and is currently also exploring the most popular music genres as well as pop culture, film, television, and news. political.
- pitchfork It is one of the largest music magazines in the world and publishes reliable album reviews daily.
- Metacritic A good starting point to see how the album ranks across important review sites. The site measures average ratings to show you what has been universally praised with links to review sites.
- sound result More than just a music reviews site, it covers album reviews, movie reviews, and TV reviews. Consequence of Sound is one of the best music blogs to hear about the latest music news and gossip for festivals around the world, and they also have news editorials and reviews of music, film, and TV.
TV shows and movie soundtracks
TV shows and movie soundtracks have been a recent revelation in expanding my music repertoire, both in terms of introducing entirely new music to my listening choices through recent movies including spider (terrible movie but great soundtrack), and TV shows like tranceAnd the And the industry — as well as reminding me and introducing legions of new fans to classic tracks like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” which made a perfect pitch for Episode 4 of Stranger Things, Season Four.
From my searches trying to track down soundtracks for movies and TV shows I’ve enjoyed, Spotify and Apple Music are the two most reliable sources for official, curated soundtrack playlists, often compiled by fans of the show. Try the The official Spotify industry playlist (Opens in a new tab).
Late night tales collections
Late night tales (Opens in a new tab) It is without a doubt one of the most influential album compilation series I’ve found. Curated by some of the most inspiring artists around the world and includes music that inspires their own work with rarities and deep cuts where artists dazzle and surprise you. I first discovered this series in 2002 with Groove Armada’s Another Night in the Groove, and have been hooked ever since. Try a sample of The great mix of Late Night Tales on Bandcamp (Opens in a new tab) To savor this expertly curated series.
I heard that on the radio
While I would once go listening to weekly countdowns and late-night broadcasts to discover new songs and bands, these days radio tends to be a very poor place to find new music. Songs are played on traditional over-the-air radio stations too often to death, and only occasionally do you hear a new gem or a rarely played classic. BBC Radio 6 Music UK (Opens in a new tab) It has a wider range of music catalog than most, and regularly pushes my music boundaries while playing away in the background.
Consider subscribing to online radio services to discover more new music:
- siriuscus m (Opens in a new tab) It is a subscription-based radio service that combines live radio, podcasts, news, and celebrity interviews. Pick a channel that features an artist you already know you like and see what they’re playing too.
- PopVortex It brings up charts from all over the world and is a worthwhile exploration.
- join last.fm, which tracks your music that you listen to across different platforms, and you’ll have a central history of your listening habits, along with recommendations. I’ve had an account for over a decade, sometimes digging through the archives to find forgotten favourites.
- Pandora (Opens in a new tab)is a personalized radio service that builds stations based on your favorite artists. Just type in a domain you recently discovered and see what happens.
Of course, the best podcasts can be an incredibly valuable resource for discovering new music.
Follow your favorite band
If you’re still on Facebook, join some music-based groups or follow your favorite artists’ pages to get a community insight into their music influences and recommendations. Music should be accessible to everyone, and Facebook has a way of making these often intimidating communities feel much more accessible than most.
Finally, one of the most underrated ways to discover new music that your favorite artist or band enjoys is to look at the people they tour with as a support act or concert opener. An up-and-coming artist is likely to be on the same page musically as the title track.
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