How to Discover Great New Music

There many ways to expand your musical tastes, especially these days of mp3s on the Internet for nearly nothing. All it takes it the desire to do so and a little time spent listening to samples. Imagine the richness of sound that is lying just beyond the next web site. You owe it to yourself to explore some of the admittedly dizzying variety that is readily available.

The easiest way to begin is to go to a web site that sells mp3s or other music files. What format you prefer will depend on a few factors, including what sort of music player you have and how big your hard drive is. The mp3 format is the one most widely available. Whatever format you choose, these music download sites offer two ways to find new music that you may enjoy.

First, find the search box and use it to pull up a song that you love. At most on-line music stores, there will be links on the page where you download that song to lists of songs that other people love which also include your favorite. Pick one of these lists and try a few songs by artists to whom you've never listened. You can spend half an hour following a daisy-chain of these lists and end up with wonderful music that you would never have found on your own.

Second, take a look at lists of the most popular songs in a category with which you are not familiar or about which you are curious. Pick something like World Music and take a listen to a few samples; wander over to Jazz or Opera and listen to a few more. Think of a group or a style you've wondered about, like Zydeco or The Buena Vista Social Club. Hunt down remakes of an old standard. Find a band or song name that you find intriguing, maybe do a search for one that shares a name with your best friend. The point is to get an idea of what's out there.

If you like what you hear in the 30-second sample, download the song and listen to the whole thing. You'll be spending less than $1 for what may be a whole new world of music. With some services, you pay a monthly fee for a certain number of downloads, which means that you'll be paying anything from a few pennies to 25 cents for a song. Take a chance! There is no rule that says you can't delete a song that you end up hating.

You should, of course, ask your friends and family for recommendations. If you hear a someone else listening to a song you like, ask them what it is. Listening to different radio stations can also help expose you to a wider variety of musical styles and new artists. Find out if your local National Public Radio station carries The World Cafe, which is heavy on British and American music but carries pieces from just about everywhere. Listening to the radio is free. It just has more intrusive commercials than the internet.

Like anything, expanding your musical tastes requires you to invest a little time educating yourself. The rewards are as big as this planet we live on, and at these prices experimentation is practically mandatory.