There’s an ever-growing amount of music available today, a few taps (or clicks) away. I for one feel like there’s a lot of great music in many genres and styles, coming from many countries, and in many languages. And there’s always new, interesting stuff coming out regularly.
Whether a new release from an artist you like, or an old one you want to go back to, there are so many options to choose from at any given point in time. Yet we can only hear one at a time, so we must choose. So…
How do you choose what to listen to, and how do you keep up with everything you want to keep up with? Do you manage to listen to everything you want to on a regular basis? Do you instead choose to articially limit yourself to keep sane? Or is your music taste narrow enough this is of no worry?
In the old days, Last.fm was good for discovering music I might like based on what I listen to.
Nowadays I have this method (hear me out) that consists of drinking a bit too much, listening to favorites on YouTube and opening multiple tabs with what I suspect are good suggestions. This leads me into multiple rabbit holes where I occasionally strike gold.
Mid 40s here - I mostly listen to stuff I’m already familiar with (albeit a pretty wide range, or at least I think so), and/or stuff which is from the same eras/genres/etc, particularly if it’s something acknowledged as influential on something else I know I like
Eg 1 - I’m a huge R.E.M. fan, and via them I discovered (some time ago, admittedly) artists like Patti Smith, the Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, etc.
Eg 2 - I am very much into house/techno, and have discovered so much great stuff old and new via a regular recommendations event on BlueSky (#RaveyardShift, Saturday nights from about 10pm, UK time, if anyone is interested!)
Eg 3 Although I don’t do this so much any more, I found that getting Tidal to generate a radio station based on a single song I like is often a great way to discover other great music in that genre whether it’s funk/soul, hip hop, post punk or whatever.
In all of the above, almost none of it is new… but it’s usually new to me, and that’s good enough.
I used to worry that I wasn’t keeping up with new music, but after a while I realised that that’s ok - there’s really no need to worry about that as it’s literally impossible to hear everything, so just find stuff you enjoy, let others do the same and don’t worry about it.
As an aside, I’m not religious at all, but I’ve long had this concept of “heaven” as a place where you simply have the time and resources to experience EVERYTHING you could ever want to. Every song, every movie, every flavour, every sensation, etc.
That’d be kind of cool. Although I’m conscious that that’s the Côtes du Rhône talking… 😁🍷
I don’t.
I keep to the Spotify 90s and 2000 mix
Public/college radio broad cast. Also never fell for mainstream data traps and apps. These broad casts stream for free from their websites and have corresponding spinatron links for playlists. May I recommend: WWOZ new orleans or WMUH Allentown
That’s pretty much all you need. For world music Try putumayo world music hour on ever weekday around noon on WMUH for a great source of curated world music by region. For a deep dive on world music there is a crazy detailed World Journey with Logan on Saturday on WWOZ.
Also for fun some times I write down stuff I like with a pad and pen, then promptly lose said notes.
By being picky and only actively seeking out my favorite genre.
I originally subscribed to Spotify because its suggested music playlist continuation after playing some songs you already liked was really good at finding stuff similar to what I wanted.
But it stopped being good at some point and I only keep it because I also haven’t been charged anything in 3 years now but still have premium service. 🤷♂️
I use the streaming service qobuz, which have curated playlists and “albums of the week”. It allows me to discover new styles or artists that I never thought much about. Sometimes it’s a miss, but that’s depending on taste. Also, the sound quality is really good if you have the hardware required.
I have eclectic taste in music. Mostly I give thanks for streaming services and radio - back when we had to buy albums I got literal anxiety because there was simply no possible way I could get even 1% of what I liked, and the thought of cataloguing it also oppressed me.
So -
I do read Brooklyn Vegan occasionally for stuff I might not have heard of, and tours, Pitchfork for live versions of songs.
I also let the streaming algorithm have its way with my playlist often, when not listening to a whole album. And I listen to radio (literal FM community radio) shows I like, and sometimes my kids scoop me on some artist they think I will like. And understand that the universe of music I might enjoy is blessedly so large I will not get to the end of it.
Oh and I go to concerts - often I have found bands because they opened for someone I went to see.
Yeah living near NYC there are so many great free shows that you can easily find new favorites.
This Thursday Big Freeda is doing a show in Brooklyn for free.
By ignoring about 99% of it.
I listen to music entirely based on what I already know and like, what I randomly stumble across, and what others recommend to me. Sometimes if I am at a bar and hear a song I like, I’ll ask the bartender what it is. This sort of thing. I don’t typically go searching and all the times I’ve tried it hasn’t gone great.
Anyway I have recommendations. Here are some bands that have been recommended to me and stuck with me for atleast a year:
- Reagan Youth
- Motorama (>5 years ago)
- Dead Kennedys
- Kino
- Kneecap
- Rage against the Machine (>5 years ago)
I use Plex for my music, which has a lot of mechanisms that help me process new stuff.
For example, I have a smart playlist that only plays things I haven’t heard in a year. This is my “Frontier” playlist to hear new things. As I listen, I rate stuff with stars.
From there, I then have smart playlists that only play highly rated things I haven’t heard in a week or two. Depending on my mood, I’ll either listen to my frontier playlist, or my liked playlist… with other playlists further scoping on genre as desired.All these playlists filter out things that are lowly rated if I’ve heard them more than X times.
I generally shove anything/everything anyone recommends into the pot, which then naturally folds into my frontier playlist which then fold naturally into my liked playlists. I’ve discovered quite a lot of stuff I never would’ve predicted I’d like this way. From there, I’ll look at recommended artists from the bands I have and like and add those as well.
I am fully involved with the music algorithm. I like that song!, clicks radio on it. Oh, this song is nice, clicks radio on that and so on.
I discover music from whatever service has the best algorithm to find what I enjoy. Sometimes it’s from amatures, sometimes it’s from unheard of artists. I rarely ever hear a song with over 100,000 plays, and I believe nobody but my mom thinks my music taste is good…
Your mom thinks your music taste is good? Dang. Mine just be like “wtf we listening to” (it’s Polish) or “Not German” skips. “We hearing Japanese, now?”. I did kinda get her somewhat into modern popular hispanic music, I think. Or at least helped in some way with that.
I listen to the music I liked as a youngin: grunge, 90’s alternative, nu-metal, weird Al, and sea shanties.
I also watch and listen to the Eurovision Song Contest every year since I found it a few years ago. That gives me ~40 new artists every year that I might like. I follow a few favorites and see what else they’ve made. Watching some of the national final competitions gives me dozens more songs.
ESC?! Hell yeah! I only follow the finals, though. I generally go in without spoiling much for myself ahead of time, so it all ends up being a fresh listen (other than when I already heard the song elsewhere, like Viva l’Italia, which I’ve heard before knowing it was part of the ESC)
I don’t really watch the nationals either. I did once, for Spain (the finals). I was gonna do it another year, for Spain (not sure which year came first tbh), but the one song I knew ahead of time, by Rakky Ripper, did not make it onto the finals :(
Honestly, I wonder what the best way to enjoy ESC would be. Following semis? Nationals?? How much should I invest myself? But then I think it works as is, and would be too much work following everything. Plus, a lot more options to my already large pool of artists and music.
Watching the national finals starts to feel like work. This year there were, I think, three Super Saturdays with several multi-hour shows to watch. Oof.
Benidorm Fest from Spain is usually good. San Remo (Italy) is great, of course, since they’re the template on which the ESC was based and because the Italians view THAT as the real show. Ukraine’s Vidbir is interesting because you can tell they have no budget and are often bombed during the show. Portugal’s Festival de Cançâo has some amazing songs, because they don’t care about winning ESC, they’re just focused on highlighting the best Portuguese acts.
I have some favorites from 2025 that didn’t make it out of the national finals - From Ukraine I loved Future Culture’s Waste my Time Vidbir Live - Music Video . From Finland I’m still listening to Goldielocks’s Made Of UMK Live - Music Video . Germany sent the wrong song again, they should have gone with Feuerschwanz’s Knight Club is super fun. NDR live - Music video .
I found the Eurovangelists podcast, and they’re a lot of fun to follow along with. Taking in too much media ABOUT the contest can color your enjoyment of the songs, though.
Well, best I get before the show is a Switched on Pop podcast episode about Eurovision. And I may or may not hear it before the show, depends on how much I care about going in unknowing to the finals. Portugal did definitely make a banger this year, and so did Italy. Viva l’Italia was one of my favourites ahead of the finals, and Espresso Macchiato won me over quickly. I wasn’t at first big into the eventual winner, but soon as they were the only one left for scores at the very end, I quickly changed my mind and needed them to win (I got kinda heated there…). Plus, the song isn’t bad either (though I wanted Espresso Macchiato higher up, and will deem it second place in my mind)
Italian had a great presence this year, with their own good song (#5), the unexpectedly fun San Marino (#26) entry, and the fake Italian song from Estonia (#3). I hear Italians were pretty pleased!
I had expected Sweden (#4) or Finland (#11) to win, but my favorites were Albania (#8) and Latvia (#13).
Austria performed really well and I knew the jury would love it, but I only really rooted for him toward the end of voting because the alternative was infuriating.
I can wholeheartedly agree on the last paragraph. I truly did a full 180. Was almost screaming at the TV in the middle of the night lmao.
I can also wholeheartedly agree on the first paragraph. Gabry Ponte’s Tutta L’Italia for San Marino was my favourite before I even watched anything, because I knew it and liked ir ahead of the final. Estonia’s Espresso Macchiato, by Tommy Cash. What a banger as well. Won me over quick. Was my pick for winning. Italy’s own song was also good, I quite liked it. More on the chill side. Interesting that this whole paragraph was about Italy, even though I’m talking three different entries by three different countries and groups of artists (Gabry Ponte, for San Marino, is Italian. Not Tommy, though, afaik)
I’m pretty sure Tommy is Estonian. He’s got a bonkers video with Käärijä, too.
Well, I am sorta familiar with Tommy, to an extent. His 100 gecs remix with Hannah Diamond, his collab on an Umru track, he’s got songs with Charli xcx, Oliver Tree & Little Big, etc.
I’ve never been kinda sure if I like him. He’s got some bangers, that I know of (it’s mainly collabs that I know), but some of his lyrical themes are kinda… idk. Can rub ya off. Like linking one’s assumed inability to handle a stick by virtue of driving automatic to a supposed inability to handle certain private parts that one can take as similar to a stick in some ways; or comparing the easiness of death to the hardness of life (I can deal with that theme better, but I imagine it could trigger someone who might have depression, idk)
I only listen to one band.
I really like the Discover Weekly queue on Spotify. I’ll find a track I like, then listen to the album, and if that’s good, I’ll listen to the rest of the discography. I’ve found quite a few Most Favourite Bands Ever this way.
