I need suggestions on new music

[Loke]

I do a lot of things to find new music - here are some ideas:

Websites (reviews): There are A LOT of music websites out there that do reviews. I try to download 3 or 4 new albums every week based on reviews from websites. I read Pitchfork every other day or so to accomplish this.

Websites (radio): Both Pandora and Last.fm are great for discovering new artists - simply type in something you like and listen for new bands you haven't heard of. Then rock the torrent sites or youtube and see if you like the rest of their stuff. Also if you're into indie / alternative music, check out KEXP's free live stream... they play a lot of really sweet music.

Torrents: I am a what.cd member and they have two tools I really like for finding new music. First is the top 10, I check that a lot and download recently uploaded music that has tags for genres and styles I like. Secondly, they have a tool that shows like a web of similar artists; if I find an artist I like I'll click on other artists similar to them and download their stuff too.

Live music: I have found a ton of cool bands by going to music festivals and what not. Sure, I buy tickets to go see the headliners, but I don't think I've ever walked away from a music festival without at least 1 or 2 new bands I want to check out.

Friends: Probably the best method - I have some friends that have really similar tastes and we turn each other on to new bands. Almost every time I hang out with certain friends we spend a solid 20 or 30 minutes talking about music or new artists we've been listening to... generally gives me a few albums to download and check out.

Honestly, it's just about listening to new music and making a note of stuff you like. For awhile I was a lot like you, I had a huge music library so I just kept listening to the same stuff over and over again, which isn't really a BAD thing, but I wouldn't say it is a good thing. I'd say just take and hour or so out of the time you'd normally spend listening to your library and listen to new music. An hour is about one album, so if you can do that a few times a week you should be finding yourself exposed to quite a lot of new music.