Music Discovery

It's pretty evident that I have some unique and relatively obscure taste in music. People ask me how it is I find some of the bands that I do. Okay, so no one asks me that, but if people actually liked the music I listen to, it's conceivable that they could ask me that question. So in the event that ever happens, I am going to be prepared by posting something here. The two sites that got me on my way to finding a lot of cool local music are unfortunately both inactive now: Gainesvillebands.com and electronicsubsouth.blogspot.com helped me find a lot of the local groups and shows that got me going to a ton of local gigs. Aside from those sites, a lot of music was discovered in my insomniac nights where I didn't know what else to do with myself but look for new music and find local groups to listen to and support. Below are five sites that aren't genre specific and how I used them to find a lot of the bands I enjoy today.

1. Reverbnation - Reverbnation is a great site for finding local musicians and keeping up with some local concerts. Using their browse and search functions can yield a myriad of results by genre and location, and a lot of my lesser known discoveries are as a result of using Reverbnation. I would just look by certain cities and genres and go down the list listening to sample songs from the bands on the list. I found two of my favorite bands, Violet Stigmata and NightCreepers, by looking for folk metal and gothic genres in France. Bella Lune from Arizona is another band that comes to mind as someone I discovered in the wee hours of the morning on a weeknight. This is definitely one of the better resources to find lesser known, small bands out there.
2. Last.fm - Last.fm is a site that allows you to download a "scrobbler" that tracks the music you listen to and documents it. As a data junkie, this site has so many cool applications that I enjoy that the normal person wouldn't. One benefit of tracking your music plays and listening habits on Last.fm is not just the ability to find similar artists according to their recommendations, but to meet users with similar tastes. Odds are you have a better chance of finding a more obscure band you've never heard of before from another human than from a computer algorithm. You're a little less likely to find local bands on Last.fm, but the ability to connect with other people could still lead to that discovery.
3. Spotify - Spotify has been around for a few years now and is my go-to listening application. It no longer requires a download, and you can pick from millions and millions of songs that you can play on a whim. Unlike Pandora, Spotify allows you to pick any song you want to listen to, not just an artist station. Spotify has a pretty darn expansive base of music, and their similar artists tend to have a nice range of music to the point you can always find someone you're not terribly familiar with. It is really easy to go down a chain of similar artists on Spotify because you just click the band and then their songs are just there to play immediately. I would say the majority of the symphonic metal bands I listen to are as a result from Spotify discovery.
4. PledgeMusic - PledgeMusic is a crowdfunding site a la Kickstarter, but it is devoted entirely to music projects. This is a site that caters to both larger and lesser known bands. There is a genre search function that allows you to discover projects based on the type of music you prefer, which is nice. I particularly like PledgeMusic because it allows me to support local bands I may never have otherwise found and add to my local music collection. Even if you don't contribute to a campaign, it is still a good way to find music.
5. Youtube - Okay, so everyone already knows this one, but Youtube is indeed a decent way to discover new music. Of course the videos on the right side bar are going to be generic crap if you listen to generic crap, but if you listen to anything less mainstream, there will probably be a good song or new band there on occasion. Searching for samplers of a genre can be a good way to find music on Youtube, and if you can tolerate the stupidity of the comments for a video, sometimes you can find some good suggestions by fellow listeners. There is also the added bonus that you can listen to live performances of local groups that aren't local to you.

What sites do you use to discover new music?