Remarks on how I discover music
This is my second effort at being more communicative and in community with other bloggers on this platform. I explain why in this post.
Arden, you asked how we are discovering new music. As someone who's been deliberately exploring new (to him) music since last September, I can offer what's working for me.
Like you, my early tastes were shaped by my parents and what they selected to listen to on car rides, either through CDs or the radio. I wasn't as influenced by what my friends listened to when I was a teenager; on the other hand I went along with what was popular (think Top 40) at the time, so it's not like I had a sense of adventure. Around age 17-18, I came across some tracks on YouTube in the epic ochestral (or trailer music) genre. My years of young adulthood were rendered bearable when I regarded it as a heroic journey:
This was the first time I found a genre that I wanted to delve more into, and throughout my time in college such tracks were my main picks. (I also enjoyed mash-ups and Taylor Swift's 1989 at the time.)
Like you, I attended grad school and because my program was heavy on writing, I turned to instrumental music. What worked for me were extended loops of video game tracks. In hindsight, it helped to have ambient music that did not have lyrics (as my brain was already full of words), and was comfortably repetitive.
Spotify became prevalent for me during the pandemic era, when I was living on my own, working from home, and had the speakers to enjoy. In this period, one of my tricks was connecting Shazam to my Spotify account, set up so that each song I Shazam'd would be added to a dedicated playlist. Admittedly, this easy approach meant I only added what sounded nice to my ears on the go; I rarely revisited the playlist to dig deeper to learn more about the artists. Your mileage may vary with this approach.
(A tangent: I don't consider myself a Taylor Swift fan, but a 1989 fan. I haven't followed her works since Lover. In recent months, I've Shazam'd "The Fate of Ophelia" around three times—suggesting that my ears know what they like, but that it takes more for me to really enjoy music.)
A few months ago, I unsubscribed from Spotify because of their investments in military drone technology. Around the same time, I found joy in returning to single-purpose devices like iPods. Since then I've been way more engaged with finding music, and it's become a hobby of sorts to learn how genres developed.
Here's my second tip: peruse sub-reddits based on genres (if not specific bands). For me, r/shoegaze has been a boon over the last few months as I learned about key names in the genre, their history as artists, the trajectory of their discographies. It's not unlike being a nerd with the films of a film-maker (or particular genre) or the books of an author (or particular genre). Art's cool in that sense. I found that exploring these forums helped me on two levels: first, it gave me an appreciation for what I was listening to, because I could follow along based on what others were hearing when they pressed play. This in turn helped me to figure out the sounds that I like (with the accompanying niche terminology like reverb or swirling). The second benefit is that it's good exercise for the brain to learn more about what one enjoys. Outside of future trivia nights, there's no practical reason for me to learn about the tracklists of albums or which members made up a band at a particular time, but in 2026 there's a shortage of joy and doing things for fun, so there's that.
You mentioned Bandcamp. My third tip is to look up the accounts of record labels that represent bands you like. For instance, I follow Sonic Cathedral for shoegaze and Slumberland Records for indie pop. From what I've seen, record labels want to be known for having a distinct sound or style; this helped me when I was in that phase of wondering, "who else sounds like X?"
Tip 4: look for genre-specific radio stations. DKFM is a site I've bookmarked for when I'm in the mood to hear something random, yet still within the confines of shoegaze. As I've stopped using Spotify, this is how I "Discover" new tracks. As a bonus, your favourite station might even have a dedicated app.
I also peruse Pitchfork, alongside Rate Your Music (to see what others have to say about what I'm listening to), but friendly caution: I read these pieces for amusement. I don't give much weight to ratings and don't allow them to affect my own judgement. There are some snobby people out there and they're not the ones to listen to.
I hope at least one of my suggestions stick!
Despite sharing what's worked for me in exploring, I decided the other day to limit my exploration since it was becoming unsustainable. That said, I'd like to take this opportunity to share what I'm currently enjoying.
Throughout my 20s I was really into the epic orchestral genre. I feel like I'm living a second life in my 30s exploring indie pop, dream pop, and shoegaze. To the readership: if you're a fan of any of these genres, feel free to say hi! I don't have people in my life with whom to discuss music—it's an experience I didn't have growing up, and I envy those who have stories about bonds formed over enjoyment of music.