Tired of bots and algorithms recommending "popular" songs you don't like? Music establishes a human connection, so it's best to hear song recommendations from real humans.
Contents1. Auditory Reflections and Song Per Day (Web):Daily song or album recommendation2. Electronic music for people who don't like electronic music (The Web)3. Music Genre Tree (Web):1111 essential records of all genres4. Rate Your Music (Web):Active and passionate community of music lovers5. Song Explorer (Podcast):Find a song and see how the musician created itMore goodies for Spotify usersDon't get me wrong, it's not like the AI is terrible at recommending music based on your tastes. But your "guilty pleasure" trail can suddenly mess up your algorithm, just like an earworm. There's nothing like a friend saying to you, "Hey, you might like this, give it a try." »
So forget the bots and check out these real people who recommend great songs.
Two music curators share their picks worth listening to on the internet. Song Per Day sends a newsletter to your inbox with a cool tune you've probably never heard before. Auditory Musings recommends full albums for streaming. In addition to the pick of the day, the two also write a short text explaining why you should listen to it.
Auditory Musings tend to delve into the history and context of the music, which is often important when listening to a full album. Heck, how often do you listen to a full album anyway, and besides, how many artists have released albums instead of singles? Click on the album cover to find a link to your favorite music streaming service.
AdvertisementOne Song Day focuses on the style of the song and a few things to look out for, like the vocals or an instrumental section. You will find links to stream it on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube. You can browse the entire catalog of past recommendations on the website, and even suggest songs to creators.
The name is a mouthful, but it's also self-explanatory. For those who have never found electronic music to your liking, this site promises to change your mind if you try.
Electronic Music For People Who Don't Like Electronic Music (EMFPWDLEM) sports a Tron-like design, tipping their hat at Daft Punk. You will find buttons for your taste:rock, hip-hop, metal, or if you like Daft Punk itself. Click on any to get a recommendation.
This recommendation screen will contain an artist's full album on Spotify, along with some additional song-based buttons. For example, buttons can say "I like rhythms" or "I like guitars in electronic music, more like that!" » Listen to the songs or snippets of songs if you don't have Spotify, and click a button to refine your discovery.
The entire website is taken from a popular flowchart on Reddit, but it's executed so masterfully that music discovery itself is fun. Simple, plain-language button legends make it more natural for you to identify your likes and dislikes.
This is one of the most complete and comprehensive musical charts you will ever see. The musical genre tree tries to include the quintessential original album of each musical genre, and they mean all genres. It includes medieval, renaissance, baroque, jazz, hip-hop, R'n'B, rock, classical and much more. Genres also include regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, etc. In total, this represents 1,111 essential recordings for each musical genre.
But what does “essential” mean? Well, the chart prioritizes the first classic instead of the “best ever” or “most popular” of each genre. The idea is to listen to the album that first popularized a genre, to really understand how it impacted that style of music.
Genres are becoming more diverse in styles, like rock having psychedelic, metal, punk, alternative, etc. Click on any album cover to search YouTube. You can also search for it on your favorite streaming service.
The main Music Genre Tree homepage has a few more links if you like that. You'll find places to discuss the choices on various online forums, where you can also suggest changes. There are also some outdated Spotify playlists and you can also download posters.
Rate Your Music, commonly abbreviated as RYM on the web, is the closest alternative to Rotten Tomatoes for music. It's a strong community of music aficionados who put their passion into words, reviewing every song and album. If you're looking for a forum to discuss music and get recommendations, you can't get better than this.
Although you can use RYM without signing up, it's best to sign up and get involved. Browse topics, give your opinion and make friends, because that's where it really shines. RYM starts giving you both an overall rating and a “friends rating” to see what people with similar tastes think of a song or album.
Other than that, dive into the many lists curated by RYM moderators and members. For example, there's the decade-by-decade charts, or the massive RYM Guide to Everything, and the Ultimate Box Set. No AI or algorithm here, it's real people chatting and voting to form lists of the best music recommendations.
If you love your music, it's hard not to fall in love with RYM. And the homepage is a great way to follow and discover new music releases.
Song Exploder is a unique combination of song recommendations and music appreciation. Each episode averages just 15 minutes, so it's easy to get into. And it embraces all genres, so it's great for everyone.
Host Hrishikesh Hirway speaks to a new musician in each episode to talk about one of their biggest hits. The musician picks out the song piece by piece, talking about composition, lyrics, production, and other fascinating insights into how a song is made. It's an easy, well-edited conversation that values your time, after which you can go listen to the song they talked about, and maybe others by the same artist.
How to enter Song Exploder? Hirway recommends listening to an episode to a song you like. And then listen to an episode about a song you've never heard before. Between those, you'll get what the podcast is all about and likely be hooked for life.
None of the websites in this article force you to switch to a particular streaming service. But given the global popularity of Spotify, users of this music streaming app have an advantage. There are tons of websites to discover music through Spotify accounts, including the fantastic Moodify. It will automatically create playlists based on music features, and you must try it to discover new songs.
