The 7 Best Apps to Help You Find New Music

It's a wonderful feeling to find a new artist or band you like, but it doesn't happen very often unless you're actively looking for new music.While many popular streaming services, such as Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music, have a way to suggest new tracks to you, you won't necessarily like them.

Sometimes, music streaming services will give you a lot of stuff you've already heard before.Fortunately, there are apps that help you discover music you'll love, so you always have something new to listen to.

1.Indie Shuffle

There's nothing wrong with loving your music streaming app.But sometimes, music streaming apps like Spotify know too much about your preferences and stop recommending valuable new content.This is called the Spotify feedback loop, and it can prevent you from discovering new tunes you might like.While there are independent artists on popular streaming apps, the more popular mainstream artists seem to be favored and plastered all over the front pages.

Fortunately, Indie Shuffle is one of the best platforms for discovering new music from independent artists, as the app's name suggests.You can browse playlists created by others that will help you focus on school or work, exercise, or just relax at the end of the day.Or, you can always see the latest songs from unique artists, with tags to help you figure out if you'll like them, and a list of similar artists.

Download: Indie Shuffle for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Reverb Nation Discover

When you first download the app and set up your account, you'll be prompted to choose your preferred type.You can change this in the future, but the main genre categories remain the same: Alternative, Country, Dance, Folk, Hip Hop, Metal, Pop, R&B, and Rock.The app then sends you songs that match one or more genres.

This system helps you discover new music better than Spotify because it mixes genres.After all, most people don't like just one type of music.So many artists also combine genres, so being able to find new favorites this way is amazing.While browsing your genre mix, you can add a song to a custom playlist, or skip it if you don't like it.

Download: Reverb Nation Discover for Android | iOS (free)

3. Pandora

While Pandora is still a relatively popular app, it's one that many people may not think of when looking for new music.Unlike music streaming services like Spotify, Deezer or Amazon Music, Pandora is more of a radio streaming platform.While apps like Spotify have some sort of radio functionality, they're not as well-designed as Pandora, whose sole purpose is to provide a timeless radio stream.

You can easily search for your favorite artist or music genre and add that station to your collection.Then, when you open the app, you can quickly browse all your stations in the "Favorites" tab.Alternatively, you can check out the "For You" tab, where you'll see the most liked songs on Pandora right now, as well as stations organized by genre, rising artist, artist takeover, mood, and activity.

Download: Pandora for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

4. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is another service known for helping you discover new and upcoming artists instead of just listening to the most popular songs.However, many people use desktop websites but don't know there is a mobile app.

By using SoundCloud on your phone, you're more likely to discover new artists on the way to work or school or while listening to music at home, which is one of the reasons why you should start using Soundcloud.

On the home screen, you'll see what's currently on the SoundCloud charts, including the 50 most played tracks on SoundCloud and what's new.Then, if you know what you're looking for, you can also search for music or browse curated playlists to find something that interests you.

Download: SoundCloud for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

5. Discz Music

Discz Music is like Tinder for new music apps.When you open the app, you always have new songs to sort through.You can swipe left if you don't like them, and swipe right if you like them.From there, the app will remember which songs you're more inclined towards and help you create playlists and find new artists based on your favorite tunes.

Alternatively, you can browse the "Discover" tab and it will look very personal since you have to import your listening history from Spotify.You can see your top tracks and artists from Spotify, and browse similar songs to your liking.

Download: Discz Music for Android | iOS (free)

6.SoundHound

SoundHound is a great option if you want to identify random songs you hear and find new ones.When you first open the app, you'll see a pulsing orange button that you can tap to sing or hum a song in your head, or have it listen to a nearby radio.Like Shazam, the app pinpoints the song, and you can then decide if you want to add it to a playlist.If you don't have your own playlist, you can also browse existing playlists.

Download: SoundHound for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

7. Tikify

Tikify is a great Spotify platform for discovering new music and playlists.When you first download Tikify and set up an account, you have to connect it with your Spotify account.Tikify then checks through your artist to see if there are any new releases for you to binge. Spotify now has a feature that enables you to see new content from your favorite bands and artists, but Tikify can do more than that.

If you browse your artists, you can choose whether you want Tikify to check for new albums, singles, collaborations, or other tracks, such as when one artist appears in another artist's song.Unfortunately, Spotify shows absolutely everything, including countless remixes of the same song released by many artists at the same time.

Sadly, Tikify is currently only available for Android users.

Download: Tikify for Android (free)

Find and support new artists

People often get stuck listening to the same artist or album, and while there's nothing wrong with that per se, it can get stale.Popular artists are popular for a reason.They are very good at their work.You shouldn't stop listening to pop music, but add new artists to your rotation and find treasures from unique artists.