Hey folks!
One of my life goals for 2025 was going back to single purpose devices and avoiding algorithm-based media consumption. No smartphones, no AIs, no Spotify.
I’m quite happy with my offline music library, even if it took a while to organize. I use MusicBee (it FINALLY runs perfectly via Wine, if you install some dependencies in your prefix) to listen, find artwork, find lyrics, create playlists and so on and I sync them to my Innioasis, a little iPod Classic clone that supports modern features like USB-C charging.
But here’s the thing… how are people finding new music nowadays? I’d assume TikTok and automatic suggestions from your music streaming services, but are there alternatives?
TikTok would probably work for me if I didn’t stop using social media, but I did. Apple Music’s algorithm sucked tremendously when I used it in the past - it always recommended me Ed Sheeran, an artist I strongly dislike and not anywhere near adjacent to my taste in music (and tapping ‘Not Interested’ a million times never worked) and Spotify’s worked well for a while, but then it started getting extremely repetitive and pushy, “Shuffle” became essentially “Your 10 most recently listened to songs, repeated often, and sometimes we sprinkle two suggestions you already didn’t like but we think you should like actually”
Wikipedia has an unusually high hit rate for me. I start reading about a band, a genre, or something music-related, then before I know it, the wiki rabbit hole of blue links has introduced me to 50 other bands. Some of my favourite bands were found this way. If you’re averse to using anything web-based at all, maybe you could get your hands on a music encyclopaedia from the library or something. If you’re into a specific genre, you can probably narrow down the scope with a book just about that genre.
I have never, not once in my entire life, been recommended an artist by an algorithm that I ended up liking. Not on Spotify, not on Last.fm, not on Bandcamp, it just doesn’t happen for me 🤷
New is probably different for me, only meaning new to my library, but usually radio.
There is new music on radio, but I usually don’t listen to those stations. But when I did, I got some recent music from there too. However for me where music peaks is the 80s and 90s.
Other way is simply stuff I hear orhers listening to near my, and then Shazam it. Which is why for example Brooklyn by Glockenbach reminds me of very specific road section and SOR C 9.5 (bus).
I listen to the music in the techno and EDM communities here on Lemmy. It seems like an ok approach.
Well for example I saw this on mastodon recently: https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/jwz-mixtape-253/
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is great for finding new stuff!
Sometimes I’ll go to albums I like and check out other peoples collections to see what they’ve also bought. Some of my favorite tunes have been found this way.
Second this. I don’t really listen to a lot of mainstream stuff, so Bandcamp is really awesome for finding really great indie stuff.
This works of you are into electronic music. There’s this app shotgun.live that manage and sell tickets to clubs and parties, mainly electronic, and when you check a party they link to the DJs soundcloud. So I go to the app, choose a city and see the parties that are being promoted and the DJs that are going to play and listen to their sets.
RateYourMusic, Gnoosic, and the old school way: on the radio. I have one curated music program that I listen to and discover new stuff.
The YT algorithm also sometimes recommends good stuff that has few hundred views
i mostly visit the RateYourMusic and AlbumOfTheYear charts and occasionally i’ll check out the last.fm profiles of users i find interesting. basically, i treat music like a hobby but i do so because i desire that kind of connection. i love music so i devote a lot of time to it. i have pro accounts on all three places. luckily they are relatively affordable. i think last.fm is $3 a month lol. but yeah, i’d say if you are unfamiliar with RYM or AOTY then maybe check one out.
edit: in case you’re not familiar, all of those mentioned are music cataloging websites that you can create customized profiles on. last.fm will import your listening history and you can track your habits in real time. it’s good for finding your stats.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/
The best album of all time of the rolling stone is a great way to discover new music for me
BBC Radio 6 Music has a very eclectic playlist, and DJs who only vaguely stick to it, playing whatever they feel like most of the time. And the DJs are obsessive music-fans as well, hunting out new music to play
Another updoot for 6 Music, and for all the reasons you mentioned. It’s on pretty much constantly at home.
I go through friends’ playlists, and my daughters’, too
I ask for people to make me mix CDs in lieu of gifts for the holidays
I listen to local independent radio — if you don’t have your own, try ChIRP
I go to shows of bands I like and often find I like the other bands playing as well
When you say “new” music, do you mean actual new music, or just music that is new to you?
I have recently started listening to an artist that I missed when she was popular, Alice Deejay, it started with wanting to see the music video for the song “Castles in the sky” by Ian van Dahl, and going to Youtube, and the song “Better of alone” by Alice Deejay showed up.
So I tend to go to YT and look there.
In the past I have looked for top playlists in different categories and found music that way.
Then you have two very similar pages full of terabytes of legal free music that has some amazing stuff…
https://remix.kwed.org/ - Commodore 64 remixes
http://amigaremix.com/ - Amiga remixes
And don’t forget the amazing SLAYradio, an internet radio station that plays C64 remixes and has download links to the current song playing (for the most part), I got soo much music through that place.
I like the infinite playlist on Lemmy. Lots of good stuff there!
albumoftheyear (a newer site like rateyourmusic) and last.fm and youtube
Bandcamp, then I go to my favorite genres, and then look at the new stuff.
