Whether you dig the Spice Girls, The Strokes or Stockhausen, you’re bound to find something here. If not, just try one of the streaming / aggregate sites like Spotify or We7 for even more suggestions.
20 Jazz Funk Greats
Psychedelic disco, progressive, general freaky stuff.
http://www.20jazzfunkgreats.co.uk/wordpress/
Absolute Punk
Former Blink 182 fansite now ground zero for emo, punk and indie. (Editor’s note: it shut down in 2016.)
Aquarium Drunkard
Justin Gage bridges the gap between contemporary indie, vintage garage, psych, folk, country – and a bit of New Orleans funk, r&b and soul.
http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/
BBC
Every genre imaginable covered by the UK’s “Auntie Beeb”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music
Beat Electric
Specialising in boogie, rare disco, laser soul and proto house
http://beatelectric.blogspot.com/
Black Cab Sessions
A new “gig” each week – all performed in the back of a London black cab.
www.blackcabsessions.com
Black Classical
Jazz, funk and soul rarities with occasional great playlists/mixes.
http://blackclassical.wordpress.com/
Blackdown
Grime and dubstep covered in a consistently reliable fashion.
http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com
Brooklyn Vegan
This NYC blog is international in scope, with news, show reviews, tour dates and MP3s.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com
City sounds
A mash-up of Flickr and SoundCloud and a device that lets users post their own songs makes for truly global listening.
www.citysounds.fm
Classical Archives
Browse by composer, performer, period, even instrument plus download MP3s and create online playlists.
http://www.classicalarchives.com
Closet Curios
Three writers covering modern composers and early electronic music.
http://closetcurios2.blogspot.com/
Cocaine Blunts
All things hip hop, from Roc Raida to Lil Wayne.
http://cocaineblunts.com
Cyclic Defrost
Electronic music, avant-rock, experimental sound art and leftfield hip hop.
http://www.cyclicdefrost.com
Daytrotter
No songs from recorded works here, but exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by bands.
http://www.daytrotter.com
Dereks Daily 45
Think rare American and Northern Soul. Lots of it.
http://dereksdaily45.blogspot.com/
Donna Slut
Totally random, always fun. Click on some artwork and see what happens!
http://donnaslut.com/
Drowned In Sound
A revered British resource for all things indie-rock related and beyond.
http://drownedinsound.com/
FACT
Going since 2003, FACT is bursting at the seams with incredible dance music. Their free mixes are some of the best out there.
http://www.factmag.com
Fluxblog
Matthew Perpetua has been posting MP3s nearly every day since 2002. He knows his onions.
http://www.fluxblog.org/
Freshly Served Hip Hop
Old skool, new skool, true skool. Plus mixtapes.
http://freshlyservedhiphop.com/
Good Bad Music
Interesting and obscure early punk tracks ripped from the original vinyl.
http://www.goodbadmusic.com/
Gorilla vs. Bear
Once described as “the New Yorker of hipster blogs,” these guys blog about relevant artists of the day, with no particular genre-specific focus.
http://www.gorillavsbear.net/
Heatwave
Dedicated coverage of dancehall reggae, bashment and Caribbean rave.
http://www.theheatwave.co.uk
Hype Machine
The Hype Machine is an aggregator that keeps track of what music bloggers are writing about and handpicking the best.
www.hypem.com
I Guess I’m Floating
Highly lauded site for under-the-radar bands.
https://www.facebook.com/iguessimfloatingblog/
Last.fm
Type in your fave artist and Last.fm will stream free music by that act and others like it.
http://www.last.fm
The Love Unlimited
A collective-run site covering all things disco and house related.
Mapsadaisical
Experimental, electronic, avant-garde sounds.
http://mapsadaisical.wordpress.com/
MBV
Comprised of various renowned bloggers, this is the blog equivalent of a supergroup.
Melophobe
Boston-based site that runs great concert reviews from all over the world.
https://www.facebook.com/melophobe/
Mondomix
Browse what’s happening in every corner of the planet via continent, or genre.
Music For Robots
Minimal techno, indie rock, post-punk and hip-hop covered by a handful of contributors.
National Geographic Music
The musical branch of the lauded magazine. As global as you’d expect.
https://www.natgeotv.com/za/music
The Needle Drop
Rock, pop, electronic and experimental, with daily Youtube updates, podcasts, radio and blog posts.
http://theneedledrop.blogspot.com/
NYCTaper
Bootleg recordings of shows by the likes of Yo La Tengo and more, all posted with the artist’s permission.
http://www.nyctaper.com/
Orgy In Rhythm
Multiple bloggers writing about old and rare jazz, afro and Latin albums.
http://orgyinrhythm.blogspot.com/
Pitchfork Media
What to say? Increasingly dissed, Pitchfork still delivers on many levels.
http://www.pitchfork.com
Pretty Much Amazing
Daily mp3 updates, podcasts, mixtapes covering everything from LCD Soundsystem to Vampire Weekend.
http://prettymuchamazing.com/
Popjustice
Mostly mainstream pop, but famously tongue in cheek.
www.popjustice.com
The Quietus
Rock, pop and so much more. One of the UK’s best new music blogs.
http://www.thequietus.com
Resident Advisor
Alongside FACT, RA is one of the most reliable sources for electronic grooves.
http://www.residentadvisor.net/
Said The Gramophone
One of the world’s very first MP3blogs. Posts “really good songs” daily.
http://www.saidthegramophone.com
Slutty Fringe
Lots of hot electronic music of the dancefloor variety as well as the odd yacht rock tune.
http://sluttyfringe.wordpress.com/
Smithsonian Global Sound
A treasure trove of ethnological recordings and an incredible resource for world-music fans. Everything from Indian ragas to throat singing bands (plus or Alan Lomax’s field recordings of American folk artists).
http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/
Soul-Sides.com
Scads of soulful rarities and hip hop from professor and journalist Oliver Wang.
http://soul-sides.com
Spotify
Streaming access to a mindblowing amount of music, all legal and all without charge (though with ads).
http://www.spotify.com
Stereogum
Lots of news and MP3s on music of all kinds, from Phoenix to Devendra Banhart.
www.stereogum.com
We7
Nearly four million tracks. Allows you to stream, compile playlists and send recs to friends. Plus no registration! (Editor’s note: No longer exists.)
You And Me On Jamboree
Old School Jamaican Music: Ska, Rocksteady, Early Reggae, Calypso, Dub, Soul and some Roots Reggae.
http://youandmeonajamboree.blogspot.com/
Interested in the connection between music and travel? Hop on over to BraveNewTraveler and have a look at 8 Reasons We Love Music on the Journey.