The Best Apps for Discovering New Music

Remember when discovering new music meant listening to mix tapes? Like, actual cassettes? And how you couldn’t even find out the name of the song you liked most because WebFerret didn’t account for the fact that you had misheard the lyrics? A lot of romanticism surrounds the idea of obsolete technology, but you have to admit that the idea of merely pressing a button on your iPhone to figure out what you’re listening to is an attractive proposition.

Rdio recently threw parties in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne to celebrate the unlimited social music service coming to our shores. Spotify has been a lot slower to sort itself out, despite declaring it would reveal Australian launch plans in late March. In the meantime, here are eight cool music discovery apps you can access right now.

1. RDIO

Rdio has been the redeemer, saviour and friend of everyone who can’t access Spotify, Pandora or Grooveshark because of annoying “Not Available in Your Country” screens. If you already know what you’re looking for simply search by name, add it to your collection or add it to a playlist. If the artist isn’t too touchy about the idea of free music you can also sync songs and albums to your iPhone and listen to them even when, God forbid, you’re without Internet. Rdio also lets you “follow” users whose tastes you admire and pick their brains/music collections. Free, also available on Android.

2. TUNEIN RADIO

There’s a reason smartphones don’t come with a built-in radio, and that reason is TuneIn. With over 50,000 stations and 120,000 shows for you to choose from, TuneIn allows you to search both local FM and overseas stations as far away as Antarctica (at the moment the South Pole is all about folk music). The app will also scan your music library and make radio station recommendations accordingly, and tracks your data usage so you can monitor your addiction to Radio Kishi Wada closely. Free, also available on Android.

3. SHAZAM ENCORE

Simply press a button, hold your iPhone up to a source of music and the 9th most downloaded app of all time tells you what’s playing. iTunes recommends you use it during American Idol to get the song lists, but other options include discovering new music in Shazam Friends & Charts, finding more tracks by tagged artists and using it in conjunction with TuneIn Radio. $6.49, also available on Android.

4. SOUNDHOUND

Got an extra dollar and a knack for emitting continuous droning sounds? Upgrade to SoundHound and you can identify songs by humming them. $7.49, also available on Android.

5. SONGKICK

Let it scan your music library and reveal the touring dates of all your favourite artists, or plug in your geographical region and scroll through a calendar of all the live shows in your city. There’s nothing like seeing a live gig to get you amped about a new band. Free.

6. DISCOVR MUSIC

If you’ve always wanted to be one of those people who discovers cool new bands but just really can’t be bothered, Discovr is for you. Just type in the name of any artist you like and the app will give you a whole bunch of similar ones in the form of a nice-looking web. Double-click to find out more about a particular artist, or keep expanding your web until Neon Indian connects with The Electric Prunes. $1.99, also available on Android.

7. POCKET HIPSTER

It’s probably no longer cool since everyone found out about it, but it’s still hilarious. If you’ve ever had a friend who raked through your music collection before mocking it and making suggestions about how to make it cooler, you’ll have some idea of how it works. Bonus points for spot-on animations, snarky quips and the way it lets you pretend their suggestions aren’t cool at all before sneaking over to iTunes to download them. Free.

8. CHOMPIN

Browse through genres and listen to suggestions, and “chomp” things you like. Chomping a track saves it to your phone so you can listen to it whenever, and lets you tell your friends when you’ve found something worthy — sort of like Pocket Hipster in reverse. Free, also available on Android.