Three Of The Best Free Sites For Music Discovery

With the amount of music out there today, you would think it would be easier to discover new bands. The problem is, unless they are on a major label, and have some sort of pop hook, it is highly doubtful you’ll be able to hear them on the radio, so how do you find new bands when you just have to get something new in to your MP3 player?

Why the Internet of course.

Music discovery sites have been around for some time now, but it is amazing how many people still don’t quite understand them. We’ve gathered up three of the best that are sure to suggest at least a few bands you’ve never heard of before.

(Before anyone says it, no, Spotify isn’t on the list.  That’s because it is not available to the general public in the United States yet.)

Last.fm: Last.fm is a music discovery site come social network that mixes the best of both worlds.  Pulling information from your desktop media players, Last.fm builds a library of the music you listen to, and as you explore information about each artist, you’ll find suggestions of similar artists that are in the same vein.

Musicovery: Musicovery is available in multiple countries unlike some of the other options out there.  The site allows you to choose your mood, time period you want the songs from and what genres they can be from, and then it starts generating music based on those selections.  You then can follow paths through the music, seeing how they connect to one another.  Links are provided to buy the music on Amazon, iTunes and eBay.  The site does provide free and premium accounts, as well as the ability to use the site PS3s, Wiis, Symbian S60 phones and even offers an extension for iTunes which will give you the same sort of functionality with your own music collection.

Pandora: No list of music discovery sites would be complete without mentioning Pandora.  Currently available only in the United States, Pandows allows you to enter the name of a song or band, and then the Music Genome goes to work analyzing the music.  It plays a sample for you, and then begins playing music with similar traits for your enjoyment.  Each time you do this it creates a “station” for you to come back to any time you want, and by voting thumbs up or down you can continue to refine your stations to better suit your needs.

The site is now appearing on just about every mobile phone, in devices such as the Roku and will even be appearing in cars this year, allowing you access to your stations from just about any where.

What are some of your favorite sites for discovering new music?