Seven Ways to Expand Your Music Taste
By Irene Koch
When COVID sent most of us back to our childhood bedrooms for five months, I slipped right back into my teenage pastimes, just like many college students. After a few weeks of listening to nothing but One Direction (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), I wanted to take advantage of the extra time I had and broaden my music horizons. If you find yourself in the same boat, here’s a list of great ways to find new music.
(Disclaimer: I primarily use Spotify and prefer their tools for discovering new music over other streaming platforms. However, some of the suggestions are applicable to any platform.)
1. (Spotify) Create a radio station based on a song. Do you have a song you really like? Click the three dots next to the song, and then click, “Go to song radio.” Spotify will take you to a playlist made of songs similar to the one you like. A few of the songs will be from the same artist, but many will be from different artists you may not recognize.
2. (Spotify) Check out the Spotify-curated playlists. I swear the people at Spotify know me better than I know myself. Click the “Made for You” tab, and you’ll find several playlists based on your listening patterns. They even split them up into different moods and genres and sync your old favorites with new songs they think you might like. My favorite curated playlists are Discover Weekly, Taste Breakers, and The Ones That Got Away.
3. (Spotify) Scroll through your friends’ public playlists. Yes, I may have just suggested you stalk your friends’ profiles, but in my experience, they have great taste. Every now and then, glance at your friends' feed or the Friend Activity bar and see if what they’re listening to interests you. If your friends have public playlists, give them a listen. If you feel comfortable, you can make some of your own playlists public, and your friends might find their new favorite song on your playlist.
4. Make a Bucket List Playlist. I created a Bucket List playlist a few months ago. Every time I get a music recommendation or hear about a new album I want to listen to, I add it to this playlist. When I have free time, I start chipping away at the playlist, either adding the songs to my already existing playlists or deleting them if I don’t like them.
5. Boilthefrog.playlistmachinery.com. This website asks for two different artists (the less similar the better) and will create a “path” between them through different songs and artists. This is ideal if you don’t have a lot of time but want to try out a few new songs.
6. Music-map.com. Type in an artist you really like, and this website will give you a host of new artists with similar styles to try out. I just discovered this a couple weeks ago, and it’s been nothing but successful so far!
7. Shazam. If you hear a song in a movie or out in public that you like, open this app, and it will tell you what it is. As simple as this may sound, I have found a ton of music by using Shazam from artists I never would have found on my own.
I can’t finish this article about finding new music without giving a couple recommendations of my own. Here are a few of my favorite albums I’ve discovered using these methods: Caer by Twin Shadow, Joy in the Wild Unknown by Ripe, On the Rocks by Midland, and Corazón Profundo by Carlos Vives.
