Discover The Next Big Thing With These 9 Underground Music Sites

underground musicMusic is the one thing that really translates well among all people groups, and with that said, it’s very exciting to discover new music and share it just to generate discussion! The Internet is likely the best tool for discovering new tunes by independent artists, but with so many different underground music websites to choose from, it can be a little daunting to know where you can find the best selections.

I recently set out to find a few sites that are great picks for browsing to find really good music. Some of them you’ve probably heard of before, and some of them you may very well have not. However, chances are that there will almost always be something new on each of them regardless of your affiliation with the site itself. With that said, right now would be a great time to plug in your headphones and mellow out for a minute.

Radio Reddit

underground music

Radio Reddit is a great site for finding new music created by independent artists and bands. Producing sounds all day in a Pandora-style media player, you’ll always having something new coming through your speakers. Furthermore, there are different categories of music to choose from (albeit limited), and there is also the option for work-safe music.

If you’d like to see more of your favorite songs, make sure to upvote them at /RadioReddit.

MadeLoud

underground music sites

MadeLoud is a simple music blog that provides articles about various independent artists. Beyond that, it also provides quite a few free downloads from those artists and others. Everything is free on the site, so budget your iPod’s gig limit well, and don’t get too carried away!

Hype Machine

underground music blogs

HypeMachine is a website that keeps track of what other music blogs are writing about, and its creators’ mission is to share quality, cultured audible content to its users. The site often links to iTunes or Amazon, so chances are you will have to pay for your music. However, at the same time, you can listen to the tunes on the site itself.

SoundCloud

underground music blogs

We’ve talked a little bit about SoundCloud here on MakeUseOf before, but the fact is that this is an excellent place for finding independently made underground music. The great part about SoundCloud is that you can listen to all the tunes on the site itself for free. Although some songs require purchase in order to stick them on your iPod, it’s quite apparent that the creators make their music with artistry in mind.

RCRD LBL

underground music blogs

RCRD LBL is another music blog that typically provides free songs mixed in with every article it publishes. The site is updated fairly regularly, and it certainly does have an underground feel to it. Content seems abundant with several songs available each day as well as read-worthy articles.

Vimeo Music Store

The Vimeo Music Store is another site that we have discussed on MUO, but in the given context, we didn’t touch much on the listen-worthy attributes that the site provides. With that said, most of the music on the Vime Music Store is quite listen-worthy! Although several songs are free, quite a few of them are pay only. Even still, if you buy a song, you at least have the right to use it in a possible video!

 r/ListenToThis

underground music sites

r/ListenToThis is yet another Reddit installment that is bent on replicating the typical teenage years of hanging out and sharing new tunes. The entire concept of the site is to share rare and relatively unheard music with fellow Redditors. Unlike Radio Reddit, the subreddit is focused on user-generated submissions (rather than necessarily creations) and discussion.

Absolute Punk

underground music sites

Absolute Punk is more oriented towards music news and updates rather than music sharing, but it is a good source for finding all things underground. In essence, you can find some bands worth listening to on this site and then go listen to their music elsewhere. Beyond that, Absolute Punk provides links to other music blogs, so the tunes discovery won’t end here.

FNoob

underground music

Are you into the true underground music scene? Great. FNoob is the type of site that is comparable to a secret club in which you have to score an invite, go down a shady alley in the darker part of town, and then hustle down three below-ground stairwells just to enter.

The site has a radio-like atmosphere where – depending on the type of account you make – you can listen to or DJ your own shows, fostering a place where listening and sharing music thrives. By the way, DJing your own show does require approval, so bring your A-game.

Conclusion

As I said before, music is all over the Internet. However, this isn’t the only musically-concerned article that MakeUseOf has written. We have plenty of them, and with that said, you should really be paying attention to Tina’s Sound Sunday. She has quite a few great songs to choose from all the time!

Do you know of any other websites to find good music? What great finds have you discovered using the ones above?

Image Credit: Alvimann


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Joshua Lockhart

Joshua Lockhart is an okay web video producer and a slightly above mediocre writer of online content. You can fawn over his work here: JoshuaLockhart.com.

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Hide 14 Comments

  • Bill Goodman June 20, 2012
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    I didn’t see The Soda Shop on that list (www.thesodashop.us). Awesome place to find and discover underground hard rock,stoner rock, doom, garage rock and so much more.

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    • Joshua Lockhart June 23, 2012
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      Awesome. Thanks, Bill.

      | Like
  • Leandro Toledo June 20, 2012
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    There’s this one here: http://www.thesixtyone.com/

    It’s awesome!

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    • Joshua Lockhart June 23, 2012
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      I thought I had replied to you a while back, because I did check out this site. This is an awesome format. I love it! Really great.

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      • Leandro Toledo June 25, 2012
        0 likes

        Thank you for replying!
        What I like best abou The61 is that you find lots of independent artists and somehow we, users, can help them by telling our friends about a new band/artist.

        Cheers!

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  • Allan June 20, 2012
    0 likes

    Noisetrade.

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  • plsburydoughboy June 20, 2012
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    Bandcamp.

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    • Joshua Lockhart June 23, 2012
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      Love Bandcamp.

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  • Zebbie June 20, 2012
    0 likes

    Is PureVolume still around?

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    • Joshua Lockhart June 23, 2012
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      Sure is. I use(d) it. I figured that it would be pretty well known though. Maybe I’m wrong.

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  • Raul Flores June 23, 2012
    0 likes

    indierockcafe.com enough said

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    • Joshua Lockhart June 23, 2012
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      Never heard of this one. Thanks for sharing!

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  • evilnight June 25, 2012
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    Check out Blalock’s Indie Rock Playlist. It’s a monthly download of 100 or so legal free indie music tracks that covers a wide variety of genres. There’s always something interesting in the list. You can find them at: http://www.birp.fm/

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  • April Alboc July 21, 2012
    0 likes

    So many goodies. Love! The61

    | Like