The search for new music is a endless river. It started flowing in the mountaintops of your childhood the first time your mum threw on some Mozart in an effort to make you smarter. The streams continued through your teenage tributaries and your twilight delta, a never ending effort to find the next cool band before your best mate does.
Thing is, the more tools there are to facilitate this lifelong journey, the more difficult it becomes to find the one you like the best. New websites, streaming services and apps keeping popping up out of the woodwork, so we thought it high time to distill the selection a little to just five.
With thousands of new music sources, how do you decide on just one? Jump straight to the best of the best with these 5 awesome apps for finding new music.
#5 – LastFM
This one’s been ticking along for a long, long while, and rightly so. LastFM rips all of the music from every source it can on either your smartphone or computer, then cross-references that data within it’s massive user base to recommend endless new music.
Unlike other streaming services, LastFM is purely focused on discovery. It’s not a viable option in terms of re-listening to Sonicology a million times, it’s there for one reason: new music.
#4 – 8Tracks
Playlist apps are a double-edged sword. There’s so many out there that you can sift through a metric ton of shitty apps before finding one that even works. Fortunately when one gets it right, it’s damn sweet.
The 8Tracks interface is doable and the playlist base is strong. It’s almost the best playlister out there.
#3 – Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an absolute staple when it comes to new artists sharing the music they make with the world. Unlike most apps out there, it’s also one of the few places you can support the new acts you find by buying their music.
There’s hidden goodies throughout as well, artists are constantly spicing up their releases with extras; vinyls, art and merch spring to mind. It’s enormous in Australia, if you’re not getting around Bandcamp, you’re missing out.
#2 – Shazam
Another giant of the game, Shazam is unmatched in terms for finding new tunes on the fly. If you haven’t got it yet, you’re just missing out – Shazam lets you identify a song you’re listening to, whether it’s on the radio, during a set or otherwise. The database is huge, and it almost never fails.
It also has a great autopilot feature, meaning you can leave it doing it’s work in the background while you boogie down. Perfect for finding out which tracks your favourite DJ drops.
#1 – Mixably
A new player in the game, Mixably is changing it up. Powered by Spotify, this app takes playlist creation and sharing to the level of a proper social network. You register as a user, create and name playlists, even give them a sexy cover photo to get the fans going.
It has all the functionality a playlist sharing app should, it’s just that so far apps have seemed to miss the mark with these qualities. Jump on it, and you’ll see what we mean.
