How to find music you will love without the algorithm

While there are plenty of criticisms to be made about what music the algorithm serves us and how it does it, the real problem with music discovery in the age of algorithmic recommendations is that listening has become a passive activity. It’s too easy to press play and let a pile of code take the wheel. Whether it’s creating a “station” based on a particular song or artist, launching Discover Weekly, or simply letting Apple Music automatically play infinitely after a particular album or song finishes.

With less involvement from the listener, less intentionality, it’s easy for music to simply become background noise. Research suggests that younger generations are discovering new artists at a lower rate than previous generations, and there is a direct correlation between lower levels of music discovery and reliance on the algorithm. So how do you find new music with intention?

The simplest and most traditional is to use music media. There are countless sources of excellent music journalism and reviews, you just have to find one that speaks to you.

Fork It may no longer be the hip young upstart, but it’s still a relatively reliable source for discovering new music. He walks the line between mainstream and independent music quite well, covering everything from pop stars like Taylor Swift to experimental electronic artists like Feeo.

If Fork is a little too corporate for your tastes, several former employees have started their own independent outlet called hearing things, and there is still this pillar of the era of the first music blogs, Stereogumwhich recently relaunched.

Daily Band Camp is also a great resource. In addition to an Album of the Day and essential weekly releases, the Bandcamp editorial team publishes monthly genre-specific guides to new hip hop, metal, and even field recordings. If you like small labels that focus on cassette releases, there’s a section for that. How about a guide to the prolific Vaporwave label, Geographical Lullaby? Here is.

Like everything else on the Internet, music has its influencers. Chief among them is Anthony Fantano, who New York Times called “the only music critic that matters (if you’re under 25).” Fantano is an institution at this point. His YouTube channel, The needle falling has more than three million subscribers and its secondary news and commentary channel has more than two million.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t call Amoeba Records and its What’s in my bag series, where celebrities and musicians shop at the legendary record store, talk about what they decided to buy and why.

The world of Substack sort of straddles the line between traditional music media and influencers. There are tons of newsletters featuring artist interviews, curated playlists, and deep dives into bands’ discographies.

Flow State features two hours of instrumental music each week. Think of it as lo-fi beats to study to, but much more interesting and varied. Active listening features beautifully written pieces on jazz, hip-hop, soul and more. Although there are many less recognizable names Active listeningit also offers new versions of better known works such as that of Mos Def Black on both sideswith a strong personal perspective.

Don’t go too crazy with Substack subscriptions if you want it to actually be useful for music discovery, because things can get noisy very quickly.

Traditional radio can still be a solid source of new music if you turn away from the big commercial stations owned by iHeartRadio and the like. Your local college station is a good place to start, but there are other non-commercial independent stations, like WFMU in New York, that eschew your standard pop fare. WFMU bills itself as a “free-form” station that plays classic jazz, scuzzy punk, and experimental sound collages with equal regularity.

In addition to traditional terrestrial stations, there are streaming Internet stations. NTS Radio is one of the best, in my opinion. The site makes it easy to follow the DJs and shows you love, whether it’s Astrid Sonne’s monthly ambient showcase, or Underground & Black with Ash Lauryn, which focuses primarily on deep house. The station also often features sets from guest artists like Disiniblud and Danny Brown. One of the best ways to find new musical holes is to learn about your favorite artist’s favorite artist.

This is the section that has the greatest potential to get out of hand, but you should become a fan of the labels, not just the artists. When I was in high school and college, I followed Matador, Sub Pop, Def Jux, and Grand Royal with an almost religious fervor. Sadly, Def Jux and Grand Royal are now gone, but Matador and Sub Pop are still going strong.

If you like intoxicating underground rap, there’s Backwoodz Studioz, home to Akai Solo, Billy Woods and Armand Hammer. For fans of ambient and experimental electronic music, Leaving Records releases albums by Arushi Jain, more eaze and the legendary Laraaji.

Ultimately, record labels are curators, and the best of them have a distinct identity. This doesn’t necessarily mean only releasing death metal records (although that’s possible). This means building a particular ambiance and point of view that unifies artists under one roof. What unites Aphex Twin, Yves Tumor, and Nala Sinephro may not be immediately obvious. But what all Warp artists share is a relentless drive to push the boundaries of their chosen genre, while respecting its broad characteristics.

This is the broadest umbrella here because it can cover many different things, but the best way to find new and interesting music is simply to connect with other people who share your tastes. It could be as simple as getting recommendations from friends or an older sibling. (Or, if you’re trying to stay current as you get older, from a younger sibling.) But there are plenty of online communities for music recommendations.

Genre-specific subreddits are a good place to start, but Reddit can be complicated. Typically, the noise-to-signal ratio on social media is pretty high, but Perfectly Imperfect, which is specifically dedicated to recommending things (including music), manages to cut through the noise quite effectively.

Discord is another great source. Many artists have fan Discord servers, and the people there are more than happy to share music that they think other super fans will like. But don’t overlook servers that aren’t specifically dedicated to music. I’m one, for things like modular synthesizer nerds and horror writers, who have dedicated channels for making music recommendations.

Finally, go see some live music. Go see a band you know, but make sure you’re there for the opening. This is how I discovered The Hold Steady shortly after Almost killed me came out. They opened for The Wrens at the Bowery Ballroom and released two of my favorite records from the 2000s. So don’t show up late just because you’ve never heard of the first band on the bill.