Most of the music that I listen to are songs that I was really into during high school, and they hold a special place in my heart since they were some of the first pieces of music that I seriously listened to. I wasn’t particularly busy in high school so I had a lot of downtime to listen to different songs and find the type of music and artists that I would eventually grow fond of. When I first started listening to music, I used these websites to discover and find new artists and releases to listen to.

1. YouTube

For me, YouTube was one of the first websites where I really discovered the different types of music that I was into. I would look up music from particular artists that I liked, and in the sidebar would be recommended videos of other songs of that artist or from other artists similar to them. Some other music services provide a radio option that serves the same purpose, but YouTube is free and it is helpful to select from a list of songs and artists as opposed to a randomized radio playlist.

2. Pandora Music

When I was younger, I used Pandora a lot to discover new songs. I don’t use it as often anymore, but it’s definitely a helpful option for a person who doesn’t want to shell out the cash for a Spotify subscription or for another type of subscription-based platform; Pandora offers a subscription service but it is not necessary to take full advantage of the platform. The website is simple: all you have to do is type in an artist, song or genre that you want to listen to and Pandora creates a customized playlist for you of songs related to your search.

3. Spotify

Currently, my favorite platform for discovering new music is Spotify. It’s so easy to find different selections of music on Spotify by using the radio function, similar to Pandora. If you’re listening to an artist, you can click on the radio button on the artist’s page to discover songs and artists similar to them. It makes it a heck of a lot easier since if you have a subscription, you can download the songs and they stay on your phone for as long as your subscription is in service, even if you are offline.

4. Reddit

This seems like a strange place to discover music, but there are so many subreddits dedicated to specific genres of music including Pop, Rock, and R&B (just to name a few!). There are even some subreddits dedicated to specific artists or bands. When I’m really struggling to find new artists, I often find myself on Reddit, looking on music-oriented subreddits to discover new music.