Sometimes it may seem that there is not a single song left to discover, as if your saved songs are the only songs that you will ever find pleasure in listening to. This is far from the truth. There is always a new artist, a new album, a new song.

Here are some ways to find new music to listen to.

Stop writing off country music

“Anything but country.” People tend to eat those words soon after “Follow You to Virgie” by Tyler Childers comes on. Bluegrass might be a better way to classify the song, but my point still stands.

The amount of people comfortable with writing off an entire genre is unsettling, but not uncommon. I used to make this mistake myself, but a good song exists in every genre. I find country to be the genre people single out the most. Genres are ever-expanding; what you are first introduced to should not put you off to the thousands of songs that exist within a genre.

New Music Friday / New Music Daily

Spotify and Apple Music do a solid job of presenting a vast range of genres in their weekly playlists. Spotify also has the release radar made solely for the account’s user. There will be weeks when nothing on this playlist is worthy of being saved. There will also be weeks where you find gems from an artist you forgot existed. 

Create station

This method is good if you’re exploring entirely in the dark within a genre. However, I have noticed that these playlists become repetitive. A created station might just pump out songs you have already heard. You can avoid this by starting a station with a song you enjoy but are not familiar with. When you start there, you are more likely to discover something unknown.

Billboard

Checking the charts helps to find what is hot and what has longevity. There are artists who surge for a couple of weeks and those who stay on the charts for 20+ weeks, like Mariah Carey. Certain artists will also climb the charts every Christmas like it is a tradition, also like Mariah Carey.

Features

Solo rap albums are rare. It is not uncommon for a rapper to have features on more than a quarter of their album. Don’t be afraid to dive into discographies. Just like athletes, rappers have a prime, and you may stumble upon them while they are on either side of their peak. This means you should check on someone’s old songs and stick around if you see an artist with potential. Features are not always as common in other genres, but they do exist. I find rappers a bit more revealing in shorter periods of time. The same rules still apply: if you like an artist’s present, check out their past and future.

Hang with the Old Heads

Older people can be out of touch with a lot of things, but good music knows no generation. The experiential sounds of modern music may limit the range of retro music we enjoy. That does not mean that our taste in modern music will match our taste in the oldies. I rarely listen to modern pop-rock, yet I often find myself jamming out to Hall and Oates. The shift in song structure and lyrics along with the splitting of genres are probable causes of this. 

Retro music can also point you to new genres of modern music that you enjoy. The 60’s Buffalo Springfield hit “For What it’s Worth” led me to become a devout fan of psychedelic rock. Now there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t listen to Kurt Vile or Melody’s Echo Chamber. You may enjoy old tunes and they may introduce you to new music as well. 

Friends who listen to everything

A lot of people swear that they “listen to everything,” until the psychedelic rock playlist gets put on shuffle and all of a sudden it becomes, “change this bro, these sounds make me paranoid.” You do not have to like the weird sounds that are psychedelic rock, but you should search through the music of a friend who really does listen to everything. You may end up finding something in that extensive catalog. Those weird songs you promise you will never put in a playlist may start to sound groovy. Just like that, you have an entirely new genre of music to dive into.

Travel the world

Consult with your foreign friends. Americans tend to put themselves into a bubble. Entertainment trends from America are plentiful, but so much exists outside of this country. Genres can have interesting styles internationally. The current New York rap scene is indebted to the United Kingdom rap scene. 

Music can manifest itself in other forms of entertainment as well. Interesting international Netflix shows exist and so do the quality songs inside of them. Pause the show and ask Shazam or Siri what the song is, you will not regret it. You should always keep your ears open.

Music Mondays

The Reveille’s running column Music Mondays currently written by Olivia Deffes has cool new playlists published every Monday. Our editor also now does monthly playlists of her favorite songs. Check out both of the most recent playlists here. 

The best way to excel in the music searching business is to never rule anything out. Listen to everything and filter out what you do not like. You are likely to find more music that you do not like.Like Gunna says, “Stay strong… keep fighting.” There is always more music.