Over the past year or so while stuck at home thanks to the pandemic, I’ve spent a lot of time expanding my music taste. For most of my preteen and early high school years, my only source for discovering new music was my local radio station. And while Top 40 radio can absolutely produce some bangers and has shaped me into the pophead that I am today, it isn’t exactly known for its diversity. Switching to Spotify three years ago has helped me broaden my tastes a bit, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I began actively seeking out new songs and artists.
I know that taking the time to listen to unfamiliar music can feel like a lot of effort, and it’s tempting to just keep looping the same three songs that you’ve been obsessed with for the past month. But there is no risk and only reward for venturing outside your comfort zone in music. If you’re unsure of how to start, you can try some of the methods that I use to discover new music.
1. Curated Spotify playlists
Yes, it’s true that Spotify’s curated playlists are part of the reason I will never switch to Apple Music. Most Spotify users know about Discover Weekly, a personalized playlist that recommends new music every week based on your current listening habits. However, I prefer using the Daily Mix playlists to discover new songs. I like these playlists because they include a mixture of songs you already like and new songs with a similar sound, which feels less intimidating than a playlist with only unfamiliar songs. Some songs that I discovered using my Daily Mixes are “Promises” by Beach Bunny and “Sauce” by Ella Mai.
I also try to check out the New Music Friday playlist every week. This playlist can help ensure that you never miss a new release from your favorite artists. Finally, if you want to get deeper into a specific genre, Spotify has hundreds of genre-specific curated playlists as well. I’ve been listening to a lot of K-pop and Korean R&B in the past year, and playlists like K-Pop Daebak and TrenChill K-R&B help me stay up to date on the Korean music scene.
2. TikTok
Another way to discover some really cool music is through TikTok! And no, I’m not talking about the trending sounds that blow up a random song every few weeks. There are plenty of content creators on TikTok who review and recommend music, and following them is a great way to expose yourself to new songs and artists. Two creators I like are @willtalksmusic, who covers basically every genre there is and @pablothedon, who not only reviews music but also covers music related pop culture.
There are also a lot of indie artists who self-promote on TikTok. Two amazing indie pop songs that I found recently through the platform are “Far Away” by EASHA and “The King” by Sarah Kinsley.
3. Critics’ picks
Yes, I am aware that professional music critics can have some of the worst opinions on music, especially if these critics are old, white men. However, some albums are universally beloved for a reason. While Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Metacritic lists are nowhere near perfect, they can be a good source for finding certified “classics.”
4. Discz
A more recent method I’ve been using to discover new music is the free app Discz. This app is kind of like Tinder for music; after connecting your Spotify account, Discz recommends songs based on your current tastes, and you can either swipe right or left on their recommendation. If you swipe right, the song will automatically be added to a Spotify playlist in your library. You can also filter your recommendations to find songs that are similar to a specific song or artist. The only downside is that the app only works with Spotify, so apologies to all Apple Music users (again). I started listening to “Silvertongue” by Young The Giant thanks to Discz.
5. Listening to full albums
Listening to albums all the way through may seem like an obvious method for discovering new music, but many people are actually unwilling to do it. This is understandable as some albums can be over an hour long. In fact, I never listened to full albums until last year when I fell in love with BTS—whose music captivated me so much that I took the time to go through every song in their discography. Of course, you don’t need to do a discography deep dive of every artist you come across, but listening to at least one complete album can help you discover some truly underrated gems. If I’m really trying to get into a new artist, I’ll usually listen to all of their most popular singles along with their most popular and/or acclaimed album, which gives me a fairly good idea of whether their music is for me. This method has gotten me into so many artists that I previously slept on such as Lorde and SZA. It also gave me a greater appreciation of artists that I already liked such as Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.
Taking the time to find new music has absolutely upgraded my Spotify library in the past year. Maybe some of these methods can help you upgrade yours as well!