There is a lot of ways to learn about new music. From The Hype Machine, Elbo.ws, Last.fm, friends, Twitter, Amazon’s “If You Like X You’ll Like Y,” etc etc etc etc…
One new site, Rock Torch, takes a uniquely different approach that I think is really helpful. The site, founded by my internet mentor (true story) and all around great dude, asks musicians to write about other musicians that have inspired them. The idea being, if you like this artist, and they like that artist, it’s worth my time to see what is up.
Hesta Prynn, Sean Lennon, Mark Olson, and Two Cow Garage are just some of the people who have contributed recommendations to the site.