R E A L I T Y

                            Good music is still out there.......if you know where to look.  We offer eight ways for adventurous young music fans (or out-of-touch old people) to discover new acts.
                             In a world where mainstream radio just doesn't quite cut it, what's a poor music lover to do?
                            Artists such as Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber seem to be absolutely everywhere these days, parading their lack of talent at top volume while accruing an astonishing number of fans.
                            The only explanation I've been able to come up with for this phenomena is that perhaps the mindless masses of those fans just don't know what else is out there.
                             I promise you, there is hope for our generation's music ... just not in the iTunes top 10.
                            As someone who can spend hours just surfing the oceans of good, undiscovered music out there, I've compiled a list of some of my favorite (and mostly free) ways to find new music in the hopes that maybe I can save just one person from the clutches of the mainstream craze.
                            So whether you're an old veteran when it comes to finding music or new to the scene, check some of these out.  You won't be disappointed.

• Pandora  -  Although already pretty widely known, Pandora Internet Radio is a fantastic way to discover music similar to what you already like.  Basically, you type in the name of a band or song you like, and then Pandora goes ahead and makes an entire station based on that band or song.  And if you want to try something different, you could always go to its pre-made genre stations.  (I recommend the indie stations -- they're all pretty good!)  Available online at http://www.pandora.com/  or as an app for the iPhone, Pandora is a steady favorite of mine for finding new music.
• iTunes   -  I know what you're thinking.  You'rewondering how you're ever going to discover anything new and cool on iTunes, where mainstream music would seem to reign supreme.  But there still are ways you can use iTunes to your advantage.   For instance, everyone knows the iTunes top 10.  It's on the mainpage of the site.  But when you go to the top 10's for specific genres, you can find music that you've never heard of before. I always find it fun to look into the top music in genres I don't really listen to and see what's out there.  Another thing iTunes offers that I find really cool are its essentials playlists. Going through some of those, you can find a lot of cool music in a multitude of genres.  That's actually how I started to get into techno... but that's not reallythe point.  The point is that iTunes can still be useful in the quest to discover new music.  Don't count it out just because it's overused.  (Yes, buying the songs on iTunes costs money, but sampling the songs is free. So if you find music you like, you can always hope you get an iTunes gift card as a present!)
• Thesixtyone.com   - This just may be my absolute favorite website for music; I'm actually on there now.  On  http://www.thesixtyone.com/, they're all about promoting cool new indie music, with some techno-type stuff thrown in.  When you go to the site, the main page says, "On thesixtyone, artist make new music and listeners decide what's good," and I think that's a very accurate way to describe what they're all about.  From there on, it's all music.  The entire screen becomes the album artwork of whatever song you're listening to, and you can give "hearts" to songs you like, in the hopes of moving them up in playing order so more people hear them.  I can't even tell you how many favorites I've found on there.
• Purevolume.com  - This is a really cool site whose basic goal is to discover/promote new artists.  And, since the majority of these artists are fairly undiscovered, there's a lot of music on there for free (legally!)  The site has a lot of good indie music, but it's got a little of everything.  Every time I go to the site, I end up with a ton of new music.  It's like an addiction!
• The Hype Machine  - I found this site fairly recently and was really happy with it.  Basically, The Hype Machine pulls from hundreds of music blogs to deliver you the most-blogged-about underground bands and songs. Not only can you listento the songs on this site, you can read all the blogs about them (if you have that kind of time).  If you find an artist you really like, you can subscribe and keep up to date with all new songs by and blogs posted about that artist.  You also can look at music blogs based on your taste in music. Needless to say, I was excited to find it.  Go check it out at http://hypem.com/.
• Your parents' record collection  - Probably the easiest way to find new music (well, new to you) is to look through old records.  The classics are classics for a reason, you know.  If your parents or an aunt or an uncle or somebody you know has a collection of old albums or CDs, it's always a blast to go through them.  I've spent hours sifting through old music.  And, on the same note, if you have a friend with good taste in music, ask them to burn you a CD.  Most people who are crazy about music are more than happyto share.
• The Radio   -  Another unlikelyplace to find quality music. I must not know my music at all.  But hang on.  This may be more for those newer to the music scene, but I think it deserves a place here, nonetheless.  When I say radio, though, I don't mean stations like 96.5 or 102.1  I'm talking the radio stations that still play decent music, that haven't completely caved to the mainstream.  And for people who don't have a ton of time on their hands to go searching for music, the radio is fantastic.   Stations along the lines of 93.3 (which plays rock) and 104.5 (also rock, but throw in some indie) are great because they play the older music, as well as a great deal of the new.  And ifyou already listen to these, try flipping through the radio stations to find one you haven't heard before.  You might find something worth listening to.
• Music blogs  - Tying in with The Hype Machine are music blogs in general.  Although this is probably the most time-consuming method of finding new music, blogs really keepyou up to date with your underground music.  A few of my personal favorites are : http://www.sterofork.com/   ----- http://www.pitchfork.com/   ---- http://www.theburningear.com/.

                        So there you go ----eight ways to dive into the music world.  Of  course, this list is just scratching the surface, but consider it an introduction. 
                         And while some of these sites offer some music for free legally, you're going to have to pay for(or pirate) the rest.
                          But just keep an eye  --- or, more appropriately, an ear ----out for good music.
                          It's really everywhere.