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We’re back with more this week, specifically - do you have taste in music? 

Let’s face it: “taste” in music used to mean something. It was the sum of your late-night record store runs, your obsession with bootleg concert recordings, or the hours spent curating mixtapes (or CDs) like they were love letters. Random downloads on pirate websites and free CDs handed out on the street by indie artists.

Now? Algorithms do the heavy lifting. You never need to look further than your streaming service.

Scroll through someone’s playlist today, and it’s likely a mishmash of viral TikTok hits, Spotify’s "Made For You" blends, and whatever the mood playlist gods decided you needed to "Focus." Nothing wrong with that—streaming platforms have made music more accessible than ever, but where’s the personality? Can you see yourself in all of your playlists? We listen, and we don’t judge. This is the state of music streaming now; it’s not your fault.

There’s something to be said for music discovery as a craft. The joy of finding that obscure band before they blow up, thanks to TikTok, more indie artists are sharing their work. The pride of having the perfect song recommendation ready for a friend, although once upon a time, this would’ve been a burned CD handed over with handwritten tracklists, not a link.

These moments define taste—not the passive consumption of prepackaged, trend-chasing playlists (although we are all guilty of this).

Here’s the kicker: the idea that "no one has taste" anymore isn’t totally fair. Taste hasn’t died; it’s just evolved. Social media trends and streaming algorithms have redefined how we experience music. The question is whether we’ll let them do all the work—or take back some of the curation ourselves.

So, what’s your music identity these days? If you’re stuck in the shuffle and skip mode, it might be time to reclaim the art of discovery. Start small: make a playlist from scratch. Pick an album and actually listen—no skips (exactly what we covered last week). 

Or better yet, explore something that hasn’t been served to you by an algorithm made to push popular music to your ears. A challenge? Maybe.

Your taste is out there. You just have to put in the work to find it. 

In one of our earlier issues, we put together a guide to help people find new music.

And we’d like to add that taste in music is totally personal, and maybe the big pop hits are exactly what you love. We love that for you, but if you are hankering for the days of discovery, the days of hearing something for the first time, or you’re thinking, “what is my taste in music?” We’ve got tips galore.

Work The Problem Backwards

Start with what you don’t like. Music, for the most part, gives us some sort of reaction, a visceral one. And knowing what we don’t like and why is a superpower for narrowing down your tastes. Although, as always, you should try new things - music discovery takes effort; it’s for those who care about the art of creation and the art of listening.

You can take an active role here, and we have mentioned this before - get active with your music streaming service. Start hitting that block button. Block artists you no longer want to hear. And, if you’re on Pandora, you can tap ‘hear less,’ and you’ll begin to get more of what you like and less of what you don’t.

But the most important part is to think about why you don’t like certain artists and genres. “I just don’t” is not an answer that is going to save you. Go deeper and work it out.

When you find ‘similar artists’ through the algo, you’re just scratching the surface. Typically, the first 3-5 artists or bands you get recommended are going to be the top level. You need to start digging. Instead of letting yourself be presented with music, you’re going to start looking at producers and writers. You’ll find the same vibe in most cases but totally different styles.

For example, Ed Sheeran, the man of pop, wrote Hush Little Baby by Wretch 32, Yes or No by Jungkook, and River by Eminem. Same writer - wildly different genres. Not all music streaming services have the same incredible credits and metadata as TIDAL and Qobuz, so Google away: “Artist Name writing credits” and see what pops up.

Another way to do this is to pick 5 of your favorite artists. Then, find out who and what inspired them; when you have that list, start looking for who inspired them. By this point, you should be many generations of music back and have names you aren’t familiar with.

A Better Algorithm

Algorithms aren’t bad; they do exactly what they are designed to do. They repeatedly deliver the music you like, so you can press play and ring up those passive listening hours. Keeping your time on the platform high and those popular artists in the playlists paid. Everyone is a winner, kinda.

But what if you could be served an album every day, at random? We mentioned them last week, but perhaps we didn’t give them enough flowers. Of course, we’re testing it out. Here are a few of the albums that have been delivered (and listened to in no-skip style):

Van Halen - 1984, John Lennon - Imagine, Little Richard - Here’s Little Richard, Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas. It is a nice mix so far; all are available on music streaming services, and it is two challenges in one. Listen to something new (or that might not have been on your radar for that day) daily, and stop hitting that skip button on albums.

Don’t Think. Feel.

Music and enjoying certain artists can often be seen as a ‘thing to do’. Oh? You Don’t like the new Taylor Swift? Why not? OMG, you listen to THAT artist? The thing is, good music makes you feel something. Your task is to find what resonates with you. And this might depend on your ‘decade’ and the music you listened to growing up. Family and friends have a massive impact on what we listen to.

Next time you’re sifting through the forums or searching for new music online, look for what makes you feel something.

Also, in the don’t think, feel comes - forget about genre. When we hold on to genre too much, we won’t broaden our music horizons, and it will be tougher to find new music that will blow your hair off. And ditch the idea that some artists are cringe - love what you love.

What if you can’t pinpoint your taste, making it difficult to find new music? You truly listen to everything from doo-wop to death metal—a tough one. So, head to Chosic.

You can either log in with your Spotify or input a couple of artists and see what it recommends. The cool thing about Chosic is that it will show you your favourite genre and your music mood, and then it delivers metrics like energy, acousticness, and instrumentalness, as well as a list of artists to check out, with links to the tracks.

When you take the driving seat with your music, your taste will naturally evolve through the years. If you let your music streaming services do it for you, your taste will change as they decide it will. Your introduction to new music will be when new artists hit the quota to be included in their playlists.

You can decide which one you’d prefer. But for those who music means something, a way to process, a way to feel, a way to connect, entertainment - anything. The music discovery and search will never end. The unfamiliar, the unpopular, the indie artists, bootlegs, and more.

Taste in music is, and always will be, subjective - but the key is having taste in the first place. Take control of your listening and find out what you actually like.

We wouldn’t be doing our job without the offer of a playlist. This one is from Glenn McDonald, author of You Have Not Heard Your Favourite Song Yet. A mammoth playlist - The Sound Of Everything.

Happy hunting! We hope you find your taste and something new to listen to.

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