Pandora's Box

I am a huge fan of music, and am an even bigger fan of finding new music. The trick is finding it. I thought I would point out a few resources that I use to do so. In exchange, comment back and let me know how you find yours - I need new sources.

• Pandora - This just might be one of the best things I have found lately. You type in an artist name and music from that artist and similar bands are streamed to your computer to listen to. Free. From the interface, no downloads necessary, you can go right to Amazon or iTunes. You provide feedback to encourage or discourage the music they line up for you. Sponsored by the Music Genome project.
  
• MP3 blogs - There are obviously tons. Today, I updated my sidebar and added a portion of my weekly music blog list. I go to each of these sites at least once a week and check out the music they are posting. Then, while I am pretending to work, I listen to it, and buy more. The current favorites are there...the actual weekly list is much bigger.
  
• Paste: The magazine goes hot and cold for me these days - I've had a subscription for 2 years. The 2 years prior, I was into UnCut. The subscription was extravagant compared to the return I was getting. Paste appears to be drifting in this direction but the price is reasonable enough...so maybe I will keep the subscription. If 2 years is the average attention span I have...it might be time for a change.
  
• Surfing iTunes - iTunes changed the way I buy and listen to music. It's like Tivo that way. I am trying eMusic out these days as well - mainly because of the 50 free songs that you get when you register. And for real, you can quit after 50 with no fee. Free music. Why would you not check this out?
  
• Mapping - There are two sites that map music that I am just starting to explore. It is really quite fascinating. Check out Music Map (appears to have a larger library than Live Plasma - although I was able to stump both sites) and Live Plasma (which also includes movies). Basically, you type in an artist you like and a dynamic map of similar artists is generated. Live Plasma is the generated image I inserted on this posting. I mapped Ryan Adams just because. It's pretty promising but I have yet to tap it as a resource for real.

Hope you find something you like.