Ask HN: How to Become a Music Buff?

+1 for RYM. It's one of the greatest curated resources with a ton of ratings and metadata.

I think a good start for you might just be going to RYM Charts (https://rateyourmusic.com/customchart) and selecting a genre. You'll find the top rated albums, and can further filter by the decade. That's my #1 music discovery source.

I think there's too much music out there to become a "buff" of every genre. You can certainly learn a little about every genre, but otherwise, I think you should pick a genre and focus on that.

My recommendation would be to look at the most famous/most popular musicians in the respective genre you're studying, and then follow the links from there. Learn who influenced them, and who they influenced. And then follow the organic web from there.

For me, trying to follow some sort of quantification of what's "best" is what leads to the frustration feeling like I am missing something because I don't like something that's supposedly great . There's nothing objective about liking music. Some music moves us and some doesn't. Artists that are deemed to be the best are usually just artists that have sold a lot of records, which means a lot of people happen to like them (or they have good marketing strategies). You might like some of those artists because you might fall in the majority but you might not.

The search is part of the enjoyment. Start listening to whatever you can find that you think you might like and if you don't like it just put it aside and look for something else. If you do like it, you will probably be compelled to find more music like it. Look for interviews with the artist or band members and they'll probably talk about their influences and other artists they themselves like. Go listen to those artists and repeat the process. If you like those artists keep digging. If not, go somewhere else and find some other music.

There must be at least one song or artist who interests you. I'd recommend starting there. One of my favorite albums is Love Man, by Otis Redding. Maybe give it a shot and see if you like it :) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kyK5LvO6EbPrUC...

Also, go see some live music. Seeing music live is almost incomparable to listening to music through headphones or car speakers.

Sheesh Data, find something you like and listen to it! Repeat .. Enjoy falling down Wikipedia holes to read about the music you like. Go out to gigs. It'll go in but your knowledge will be different to everyone else's

Though if you really don't like music why do you think you can get good at it?

Like I feel like I have almost no knowledge of painting, and that it's important in some sense, and I'll go to exhibitions but... None of it goes in. I can't answer questions on what I've seen. (But music mostly did.)

I've realised over the past decade that my brain just isn't wired to allow me to be a music buff.

I absolutely love music and the emotional effects it has. But I can never remember the names of songs, or how they sound. It means when I try to play music at a party, first I have to look it up by finding the playlist I put it in, and then it inevitably falls flat - missing the mood in the room by being too sad or happy or heavy or melodic. Many of my friends do this instinctually - they can throw songs into the queue and they fit the mood.

The one area I can seem to remember is actual bands I've seen perform. Something about engaging with live music sets it in my mind.

So while I think investing time into music if you enjoy it is worthwhile, there's no point forcing yourself. It might be that you're just not wired that way. And that's ok!