Buy random cheap Crusty-type EP's (and comps!) from my local store... look at ancient, crusty issues of Maximum Rock N Roll.
Do the Youtube thing... oh my god. So many hours, so many tabs opened just following the trail of related videos.

Sometimes I just browse MA to find genre/lyrical themes and find something that looks interesting to research.

Last.FM, too. I look at similar artists and whatnot.

In this day and age, that seems like a silly question, TBH. The real question is: How do I stem the flood of generic/mediocre crap to find all the good stuff buried in it?", considering there is SO MUCH to explore everywhere.

In deep dark caves, buried by time.

so, in other words, the cut-out bin for used records, yes.

I can't exactly get out to see shows so there's not much help that way. These days I mostly read this forum and I've developed a good idea of what I might like and not like. Despite being a 'new' person on the board, I've actually been reading this place since late 2002 early 2003 at least. I specifically like reading threads about different albums, that Katatonia thread is a good example. And sometimes it doesn't take much. I remember when Viva Emptiness came out actually. Never heard anything by them before and someone on another forum said that it was hands down the best album of the year. That was enough to spark my interest and get me to dive into their discography.

I use last.fm, metal-archives, and when I was just starting to get into metal I would always google: bands like (a certain band name).

These days it seems to be a combination of doing an advanced search on bands in a given area and then seeing what kinds of bands will play shows around here. Add in a random Blabbermouth advertisement and a random impulse buy and that about sums it up for me.

I started by using Rock Band. Rock Band is how I got into metal (Iron Maiden, The Strokes, Machine Head, etc). Whenever I heard a metal band on Rock Band that I liked (or even if I didn't like them that much), I would check them out.

I then started using Wikipedia. I would look at the page of a certain genre (usually metalcore, sometimes melodic death metal or something else) and see all the bands listed there. Users would change those pages occasionally so I would sometimes find new bands.

I then started branching out by word of mouth. I would hear about certain bands in a genre I liked, or just big bands that are well known in their respective genres.

Finally, the way I find music now is from websites or blogs that post new album leaks and releases for download. They always have myspace or facebook links to check them out and if they have an appealing genre tag, I will check them out.

I have used things like iTunes, youtube, last.fm, and other stuff like that to find music but their 'recommendations' can be so off sometimes.

Yeah, this. I've spent weeks with 20+ tabs dedicated to Youtube because there ends up being so many bands/songs I want to hear.

You don't, really. You take it for what it is and move one to the next piece. I find poorer music as a good relation to base my preferences of the genre around. They demonstrate the basic ideas of what I like in whatever genre it is, so when I go to hear something actually good the difference in quality becomes very prevalent.

That's a brilliant point!

http://www.rateyourmusic.com

That site is pretty good too. Search a band, and you can look through what the users who have rated said band also listen too. The lists there are pretty convenient. Metal has a decent following on that site, so its not a bad idea to check it out.

I never got into RYM... the layout just hurts my eyes too damn much.

I also do the related youtube videos trail!

I used to go on RYM a lot in high school but I haven't messed with it much since 2007. It's a fairly nifty site but the little blurb reviews really get in the way of the ones with actual detail...

Metal Archives.com, RateYourMusic, Youtube, Last Fm, Goodwill, Garage Sales, Late night Jazz radio stations, discount record bins, friends, traveler/ nomad types, touring bands, local distros, old zines, new zines, etc...

I don't know why you would ever stick to one medium.

That is quite the analogy translation you have suceeded in deciphering.

Either one of the following:
- Youtube search (and associated suggestions)
-MA
-recommendation from friend

Hmm, let's see what motivated me to listen to/buy albums by, say, the last, say, ten bands whose albums I've acquired. This isn't counting "oh I heard their name around somewhere but haven't listened to them", this is what finally made me want to listen to the band in question. Anyways...

1. Stumbled upon them on YouTube with no prior knowledge (Torsofuck)
2. Probably first heard about on the forums here, searched on YouTube out of curiosity (Augury)
3. "Blind buy", meaning I got my order screwed up (Bloodparade)
4. The Old School Death Metal Gems Thread here (Demented Ted)
5 Stumbled upon them on YouTube with some prior knowledge but no desire to try listening to (Katatonia)
6. The band requested reviews out of the blue and sent me their music, but I had heard their name before on this website (Animae Capronii)
7. Stumbled upon them on YouTube with no prior knowledge (Purulent Jacuzzi)
8. Blind buy from distro (Qrujhuk)
9. Blind buy from distro (Myrmidon)
10. Blind buy from distro (Infinite Hatred)

So overall, it seems I'm divided between YouTube, discussions and reviews here on the Archives, and blind buys.

By the way, am I the only one who wants this thread to get off the first page simply because UnholyGoatBlasphemerAgainstGod's username is stretching out the thread author field on the thread list? :/

I just pay attention to the active metal scenes bands I like are involved in, like Portugal and Finland.

Where do used CD bins actually exist? My city has basically one real music store and all they have is this shitty box thing where if you buy 10 CDs you get each at $3 a pop, and most of the CDs are repeats of Nirvana's In Utero (at BEST) and Christina Aguilera and assorted assorted compilations. I peruse Savers/Goodwill/Salvation Army whenever I can and have found great stuff on occasion, but if there are certain types of stores with bargain bins that I'm just missing, I'd love to know about them.

Pretty much iAm's method

I typically sift through related videos when listening to bands I like on Youtube, which has sent me into some interesting directions, I also skim through the Now Playing thread and pick out what seems interesting. I also occasionally, when the money's right, will impulse-buy an album based solely on its genre, album art and reviews here, but thats only very occasionally.

Metal forums, here and metal-rules mostly, Pandora, youtube, and sometimes just grabbing a disc with a cool cover.

The only remaining chain store is FYE, I think, and I assume they still have used discs. My local one closed down some time ago, but they linger out there somewhere. When they were called Wherehouse Music, there were 3 within half an hour from my house, and I can't even put a number on how many amazing cd's I found in their "used" sections. (They weren't bins; there were actually several aisles devoted to them.)

I miss music stores. Badly. While the internet has made it easier to buy stuff, it also has illuminated the whole wheat:chaff ratio. "Browsing" used to be an enjoyable, leisurely experience. Now I'm filled with dread when I pull up a distro and see something like "category>cd's>metal>3,350 results." Even a great find online doesn't quite compare with flipping through rows of albums and literally gasping at the discovery of, say, The Erosion of Sanity second-hand for $5.99 or a sealed copy of Drawing Down the Moon for a buck.

Having bitched about that, though, I will say that the sight of a fat Hells Headbangers parcel filling the mailbox is pretty glorious.

Yeah the local FYE has a pretty decent metal section and a lot of used stuff. They just mix the used discs in with the new stuff. Then they are always haveing buy 2 get the next for a dollar, and other sales like that.

Like many here, from related Youtube videos, I also use this forum as well, many good band recommendations here, and of course from my friends, we always share bands we've discovered on our own. that's about it

A big one for me is using labels' websites. Finding the labels with metal archives is of course a great tool (the best).
On the rare occasion I find a new blog, or use one that is vaguely familiar, and one which contains active links.
Lastly I use metal websites/ forums which provide insight for the kind of metal that I am interested in.

Youtube related videos, the similar artists section in this site haven't helped me yet.

Blogspot is undoubtedly one of the best sources, for me. It's teeming with countless reviews and volumes of information about music both old and new. When I find a blog run by someone whose tastes I like, I keep an eye on it. If a blog mentions a band or record that sounds interesting, I'll look on YouTube. Then, if I like what I hear, I'll sometimes look into on this site, just for extra information.

If you want to discover old, obscure metal bands, subscribe to the Youtube channel NWOBHM87
He has an amazing amount of rarities, and he just keeps uploading.

Currently mainly through Fenriz' band of the week blog for obscure stuff and this site: If a band gets mentioned a lot I'll give it a listen if I'm interested in their style. If I like it I'll download an album ("Arrr ye scurvy dog!") and keep my eyes open for a good deal to get a physical copy. This'll give me some time to decide if I really want to keep listening to that band. If I decide that not, I'll delete the mp3s.

Purely through the Internet: Metal archives, YouTube related videos, music review blogs, a few times from album lists on Amazon. I've found some good stuff through Pandora and Last.fm also.

Metal-Archives is now a new way to acquire new listening gems, but Decibel magazine does a really good work at it, too. Usually just take a list of all the interesting bands and search them up on Youtube. I've always liked the visual, glossy and exciting pages of magazines. The internet is kind of boring that way, and doesn't inspire me that much inititially xP