Wednesday, December 16, 2009

A Nice Site To Visit: Allmusic.com

Interested in learning about a new band that recently hit the airwaves? Want to read an in-depth review of an album that’s been out for over ten years? Looking to get a brief bio on one of your favorite bands? Then there’s only one website that you need to visit: www.allmusic.com This site has it all and then some!

All Music is a tremendous website for any fan of music, regardless of genre. With detailed coverage on any musical type one can imagine, samples from any album that can be thought of, and well written reviews of every CD ever released (seriously), allmusic.com is one of the best music sites in existence.

At the top of the main entry page is a magical search box that will lead you to any band you can think of (provided they are signed bands – local club acts may be a little hard to find). Upon entering the name of a band (or album or song) you are whisked away to an overview/biography of that band. From there, you can read the band’s full bio, look at their discography, get a complete list of all their songs (from which you can listen to a 30 second sample of any of them), and gaze at all of the band’s charts and awards.

Upon entering the site, there are a lot of useful tools that are immediately noticeable. The first being the new releases posted on the right hand column. Every new release for that week is listed, not just the mainstream artists. The site menu is a great application that allows the viewer to read the Editor’s Choice, the Top Searches, an Artist Spotlight, or the All Music Blog; all great ways to help the reader hear some new/different music and determine if it’s right for them. I enjoy reading the music blog because it provides well written posts on a bunch of lesser known bands and/or topics then I write about, which only helps to expand my musical palate (something your cousin Ryo lives for).

Want to seek out new music by genre? There’s a toolbar for that! Whether your desire is jazz, electronic, rap, country, blues, or just good old rock and roll (or more), just click on one of the genre buttons and you’re whisked away to the latest and greatest albums of that genre. It’s an excellent way to learn more about music that you may otherwise never know.

Once inside the main genre, the category is broken down into sub genres where the exploration can go even deeper and further with more in depth examination of all the particular styles. A background of each style is written up and then key albums from that style are reviewed, helping the reader understand just which albums they need to make their music collection magnificent. To a super music geek like me, this is just heaven.

Whether you’re a fan of music looking to broaden your horizons, a serious collector wondering which Coltrane album is the best to own, or a casual fan looking for the latest hot release, allmusic.com is the site to visit. Deep in musical knowledge, vast with samples of every album posted, and rich in well written reviews and biographies, allmusic.com is the one stop for any fan of any type of music.

You can visit All Music by clicking this link: www.allmusic.com

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