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 🤷
I still find music the old school way, either through people I know recommending it or hearing it randomly in my travels.
I often do this too, sometimes I ask people for recommendations, hear a song on a show, or hear something in passing I like. Some of my coworkers have given me great recommendations especially.
Bandcamp
Second this. I don’t really listen to a lot of mainstream stuff, so Bandcamp is really awesome for finding really great indie stuff.
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.
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.
Never used the site myself as i’m still “plugged in” but i’ve kept this in my pocket for if i ever cut ties with music streaming. If you try it report back with your thoughts?
I’m not OP, I’ve tried this in the past and at least for my genres it didn’t provide anything new or that I would like. I saying that though, I’m not placing the site at fault.
That’s a shame, i was holding high hopes for it. Good to know i should adjust my expectations when the time comes.
Go see bands live, look up who is opening for bands you like and check out their music, talk to people who go to those shows and see what they like.
look up who is opening for bands you like and check out their music
This one is HUGE. I’ve been to two shows now where I ended up liking the openers more than the main act.
I find more good quality music on community radio stations compared to the algorithmic recommendations from Apple Music. I wonder if this is because the community radio host is just playing music that they genuinely like as opposed to whoever pays the most to be on a discovery playlist.
Community/College Radio is such an under utilised source IMO. No pay to play artists. Often a focus on local artists. Gigs and events focussed on the community. It’s the best. Do you have radio station recommendations?
Thanks heaps.
I listen to Triple R: https://www.rrr.org.au/ There might be some good community stations in your area though
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
Bandcamp, then I go to my favorite genres, and then look at the new stuff.
Well for example I saw this on mastodon recently: https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/jwz-mixtape-253/
College radio. It can be a little more “work” because the format changes with the deejay. Their shows usually last a couple hours and come on once a week. You can’t just tune in and expect to hear a certain genre. It’s worth it though. If you have a station near you, they sometimes let anyone deejay even if they’re not a student. I live in NE Ohio, the stations I’ve grown up with are WCSB 89.3, WRUW 91.1, WOBC 91.5, WJCU 88.7, WBWC 88.3. Also they are noncommercial so that’s a bonus. You can listen through their websites and they sometimes archive shows. I’ve found them on the TuneIn app but the app plays commercials.
There’s also a decent amount of college and independent stations (not IHeartRadio, etc owned) that broadcast online, so location isn’t an issue.
I know OP is trying to go for single purpose devices, but RadioDroid on F-Droid is great for listening to internet radio and has a built in station list.
I just go on youtube music (don’t need an account) and search “songs like x”. That will get you a bunch of algo and user created playlists. Then I listen to them and take note of the ones I like.
Bandcamp has given me some good recs if you go to the bottom of the page of an album you like it will have some suggestions.
I like qobuz as my streaming service. It has terrible algorithms but well written human articles about genres, bands, labels with links to important albums.
I also like browsing the record store and picking up an album based on cover. I think you can 100% judge an album by it’s cover.
Radio Garden has thousands of radio stations in one app, from around the world. I’ve found a lot of great music that way.
Also handy if you find DJ banter distracting. Just point at at station in an unfamiliar language and it all gets reduced to background rhubarbs.
Most of the time you don’t even have to do that. I choose stations with no banter at all. Just music and the occasional mention of the station’s name. It’s spoilt me - I can’t tolerate my local FM radio any more.
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.
