How I actually find new music
The recommendation algorithm is fine, but it keeps handing me the same five artists. Here is how I dig for the rest.
Every streaming app has a recommendation engine, and most of them are decent. The problem is that they play it safe. If I like one artist, they show me four artists who sound almost exactly the same. After a while my recommendations stop surprising me, and the whole library starts to feel small.
So over the years I built a few habits that work better than waiting for the algorithm.
Follow the credits, not the artist
The fastest way I have found to go somewhere new is to look at who worked on a song I already like. Producers, featured artists, the person who wrote it. One producer usually has a sound, and tracing their other work pulls you into a whole scene you did not know existed. This works far better than "fans also liked".
Use the radio feature once, then leave
The auto-generated radio stations are good for one thing: finding a single new name. I let one play, write down the first artist that catches me, and then go listen to that artist properly on my own. Letting the radio run for hours just loops me back to the familiar stuff.
Ask people directly
This sounds obvious but most people do not do it. When a friend has clearly good taste, I just ask what they have had on repeat lately. A real person gives you context the algorithm never will. They tell you the story behind the album, not just the track.
Keep a messy holding playlist
I have one playlist that is pure chaos. Anything new goes in there with no sorting. Every few weeks I go through it, keep what survived, and move the rest out. The stuff that still sounds good a month later is the stuff worth keeping.
None of this is complicated. It just takes a little effort that the apps are designed to remove. For me that small bit of digging is the part that makes finding music feel like mine again.