Poll: How do you find new music?

CNET News Poll

Searching for sounds
How do you find new music?

iTunes
Amazon
Friends
Pitchfork and other such sites
All the new stuff is crap.
I have enough music to keep me going.

View results

Offbeat, melodic, and pretty, Clem Snide stays in heavy rotation at my house.

In the 1960s, I heard new music on the radio.

The best DJs turned me on to new stuff all the time. Next best source was friends--I'd go over to their house to check out their new LPs. Record reviews in Rolling Stone and The Village Voice flagged intriguing up-and-comers. I used to find new music in record stores, but that rarely happens anymore.

Nowadays it's Sirius satellite radio and Pitchfork. And just snooping around the Internet, including artists' Web sites, I luck onto new music. My latest find: a quirky little band by the name of Clem Snide. Their new album "Hungry Bird" is sweet and melodic, and their odd tunes have real staying power. Sounds pretty decent too.

So how do you find new music? Vote in the poll. And if I missed any options, let me know in the TalkBack section below.

[SlanderPanic]

I usually find new music via Pandora and Slacker. You say Pitchfork's a thing, but I've never heard of it until this post.

[wavjockey]

I regularly check with several music labels that represent the forefront of the music I listen to.
I always find new artists that I've never heard of but are wonderful talents.

[wavjockey]

I regularly check with several music labels that represent the forefront of the music I listen to.
I always find new artists that I've never heard of but are wonderful talents.

[TMU1006]

I HEAR new music on Sirius/XM, and then I buy it on iTunes, generally.

[tipoo_]

All the new stuff is crap.

[humblehifi]

it appears you are looking in the wrong places...

[joecandido]

Like I did just now thanks to your blog.. on the internet. Radio isn't cool these days, and the stores are way too corporate.

[inachu]

In my town they mostly got rid of 1980's rock and replaced it with latino music.
does not feel like america anymore.

[kingrah1]

you forgot pandora radio and the regular radio, thats mainly where i find mine. Then i buy through iTunes or amazon.com depending on who is cheaper for the particular song.

[Jboggie619]

You missed a pretty big source of new music discovery. Pandora/last.fm and also when used in combo with zune pass, or rhapsody it makes finding new music endless! i think that the zune pass is an awesome service especially if you love music!

[Perkins13th]

I think MySpace is a great place to find new music. Go find a band you like and just look at there friends. You'll spend hours in that vicious circle trust me.

[cvaldes1831]

The MySpace thing works well. You can also peruse CD Baby.

Also, you could just go to a club that features (mostly) indie performers. Places like The Hotel Cafe (Los Angeles), Bottom of the Hill (San Francisco).

[cvaldes1831]

Note that you can also visit the websites of indie music venues; they always link to the band's MySpace page/etc. these days. So even if you don't live in L.A., you can still learn who is an emerging talent.

[Harlan879]

MP3 blogs and Radio Paradise.

[crescentdave]

I'd echo Jboggie619 with Pandora/lastfm and either zune or rhapsody. If you like listening to LOTS of new music from different genres, subscription music is hard to beat. On the go (can take with you on your mp3 player) rates are about $15/mo. To me, this is worth it. Zune throws in 10 free tracks a month. Prices can vary on individual tracks ... most are at the same price as iTunes. Emusic is also a great source of music ... much less mainstream than iTunes, for sure. Amazon has some amazing deals, again far better than iTunes. Not to beat iTunes to death ... they have a great catalog. But 30 second reviews can be pretty lame (ever try to suss out a d&b or dub or ambient or classical track in 30 seconds? Pretty much a joke).

So my tax is paying either $10 or $15 dollars a month to listen to/download all the music I am even remotely interested in. If I really want to keep it ... I can buy for .99 track at Rhapsody, iTunes, Zune. Or maybe even cheaper at Amazon.

[mediocrates--2008]

Pawn Shop & thrift store CDs - but that's where I get all my old music too.

[papajeffe]

i find new music mostly by listening to lastfm and pandora

[yoyojam55]

FM Radio FTW

[SanjayGolf]

Every morning I hit up various music review sites such as Pitchfork, Popmatters, Cokemachineglow, Drowned in Sound and Tiny mix tapes as well as Stereogum. These sites review new cds on a daily basis and most provide songs to preview or, in pitchfork's case, the whole cd to preview thru Lala.

[Uilleam]

I usually discover new music everywhere, just by keeping my ears open. But if you want to talk about a software service, Zune and Zune Social are the mediums through which I discover most of my new music. What the heck is Pitchfork?

[minimalist]

www.pitchforkmedia.com

Its an online music magazine that specializes in independent and lesser known music. Although the writing can be a bit pretentious and self-important sometimes its still a great resource for hearing about bands that fly under the radar on many sites.

[Chri2020]

Last.fm and The Hype Machine!
Oh and friends of course..

[cromeyeller]

Listening to DJs on KUT-FM, Jay Trachtenberg, Jon Aielli, Larry Monroe. Also, "Sunday Morning" program on KGSR-FM. Both are available as internet streams.

[kjeeri]

Well Steve, I went to Amazon and listened to Clem Snide. He's a loooooooooooong way from Loudon Wainwright IIIs first two albums, not to talk about his talentless children. Long live the Doors and Frank Zappa!

Kjell Eriksson, Uppsala, Sweden

[lloydsnewsn]

zune pass