How to Have a Diverse Taste in Music

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 24, 2023 References

One of the great things about how digitally-accessible music is nowadays is that it’s so much easier to broaden your musical horizons. There are tons of genres, artists, and songs waiting for you to discover them at the click of a button. Of course, there are still some traditional ways to expose yourself to new music, such as going to music festivals. We’ve compiled this list of ideas for diversifying your taste in music, so take a look and enjoy your musical journey!

1

Use a music streaming app.

Music streaming apps provide all sorts of ways to discover new music. Download and sign up for one of the many available apps, if you’re not using one already. Browse the wide selection of music on the app to start expanding your musical taste. Use some of the following tips on this list to get started!^{[1]
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- For example, Spotify is the most popular streaming app these days and has a huge selection of music. Pandora, Amazon Music, and Deezer are some other options.
- Don’t worry if you don’t have the budget for a premium subscription. There are free versions of some of the biggest music streaming services, so it doesn’t have to cost you anything to expand your musical tastes.

2

Look for music that's similar to what you know you like.

Find recommended songs and artists based on your favorites. If you already use a streaming service, look at the artists and songs that you already have saved in your music library. If you’re new to streaming services, write down a list of all the different genres, artists, and songs that you already know you like. Use these to guide your search for new music to listen to.^{[2]
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- Knowing what you already like helps you find new, similar music, or gives you an idea of what genres you lack familiarity with and may want to explore.
- For example, if you mostly listen to rap and you know you really like 2Pac and Biggie Smalls, you might want to look for other rappers from the 90s to start listening to.
- If all you listen to is rock, you might decide to explore electronic music to diversify your musical tastes and start listening to other, very different genres.

3

Create playlists to make your streaming app suggest new music.

App algorithms use your playlists to get to know your tastes. Compile some of your favorite songs into a few different playlists to give the algorithms something to go off of. Listen to these playlists and let the streaming service keep suggesting similar songs once a playlist ends.^{[3]
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- For example, if you like listening to old-school rap, make a playlist of songs you like by Tupac, Biggie, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and other similar artists. That way, the streaming app is likely to suggest other old-school rap that you might not have heard before.
- Your playlists don’t have to be long. If you only know a dozen electronic songs that you like, toss them all into a playlist and let the magic of streaming algorithms start expanding your musical horizons!
- Streaming services are also full of playlists created by other people. Use the search function to browse these playlists and listen to ones that look interesting to you.

4

Make radio stations in your app to find fresh songs.

This is another way to leverage streaming service algorithms. Create a radio station based on a song, genre, or artist. Or, create a radio station based on one of your playlists to listen to similar tunes.^{[4]
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- For example, if your favorite song is Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan, make a radio station based on that song or make a Bob Dylan station.
- Some streaming apps also automatically make radio stations for you based on what they know you already like.

5

Browse music by genre to find new artists.

Genres are good general places to find new tunes to listen to. Use the search function in your streaming app to search for the genre or genres that you like. Browse and listen to different artists and songs that pop up. Save any that you like to your library by using the “like” button or by adding them to a playlist.^{[5]
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- For example, if you like R&B, just type “R&B” into the search bar to instantly pull up popular artists, albums, songs, and playlists to explore. It’s that easy!

6

Try a new genre to step out of your comfort zone.

If you tend to listen to a certain type of music, mix it up! If you're a fan of pop, check out some classic hits. If you like rock, explore related genres like metal. If country is your thing, listen to some bluegrass and see what you think. Exploring a new genre will broaden your music horizons and expose you to new artists and songs. The possibilities are endless!

7

Look at artist profiles on your streaming app to find similar ones.

Streaming services will recommend similar artists for you to check out. Go to the profile of an artist you like and scroll through it until you see a list titled something like “similar artists” or “fans also like.” Go to the profiles of some of those other artists and listen to their music to find new tunes to jam to.^{[6]
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- For example, if you go to the “fans also like” section on Drake’s profile, you might discover other artists like Big Sean, J. Cole, and PARTYNEXTDOOR.

8

Follow artists you like on social media.

Artists often engage with other artists on social media. Follow people you like and keep an eye on their stories and posts to see if they're collaborating with anyone new to you or recommending up and coming artists that they like. Check out these new artists’ profiles on social media and music streaming services to discover their music and see if you vibe to it.^{[7]
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- For example, if you follow Kali Uchis, chances are at some point in her stories or posts she’s going to put you on to some other Latinx, R&B, reggaeton, or indie artists who you haven’t heard of yet.

9

Read music publications.

Music blogs and magazines are a great way to discover new music. Search online for blogs and other publications that write about the types of music you like. Read them daily or weekly to get insight into new releases or up and coming artists to listen to.^{[8]
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- For example, if you like rap, simply type “rap blogs” into a search engine to pull up a bunch of different sites and lists of the best blogs to check out.
- Music publications also often have links to where you can listen to stuff that might not be on streaming services yet, such as remixes and mixtapes. They also often feature or even exclusively release music videos.

10

Go to concerts.

Any concert is likely to have openers you haven’t heard of before. Grab tickets to any concert near you for artists you like and go when doors open at the beginning to catch all the opening bands and artists. Or, attend music festivals to expose yourself to a whole bunch of different music at once.^{[9]
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- For instance, if you like Blink-182 and they’re coming to a town near you, go to the concert to listen to some other local or lesser-known pop-punk bands.

11

Get suggestions from friends.

Chances are you have a friend who listens to stuff you’ve never heard of. Follow your friends’ profiles on music streaming services to see what they’re listening to. Or, ask them to send you playlists or give you recommendations for what to explore on your own.^{[10]
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- You can even make collaborative playlists on some streaming services, which is a fun way to share music back and forth between you and a friend or with a group of friends. That way, everyone gets to diversify their taste in music!