thelittlemermaid

How did you find yours?

I have 4 that I found in interesting ways: Bon Jovi, R.E.M., Rent (the musical), and U2.

With Bon Jovi, I wanted new songs on my iPod, and my parents had their "Cross Roads" CD, so I added the songs and listened to them. A few weeks later, my dad had a CD in the car on, and it was playing "Thank You for Loving Me". I really liked that song but I didn't know Bon Jovi sang it. I added the songs from that CD, "crush", into my iPod and was hooked.

I read about R.E.M. in a book and downloaded the mentioned song, "Losing My Religion". I listen to a lot of their songs.

My friends and I wanted to watch the movie Rent at a sleepover, but we didn't get past the first scene. At another get together a week later, one of my friends had watched the whole movie and recommended it highly, so we watched it again and fell in love. I've seen the show on Broadway 4 times (three of those times last year) and I have both the movie and Broadway cast recordings.

As for U2: In English class, to introduce us to "To Kill a Mockingbird" in freshman year, our teacher taught us about segregation and racism towards African Americans. When we learned about Martin Luther King Jr. she played us the U2 song "Pride (In the Name of Love)", and I liked it, so I downloaded it later. Gradually I kept downloading songs, and now I really love this band.

Kaznack

My sophomore English teacher did kind of the same thing, but with Catcher in the Rye. He played us "The Real Me" from Quadrophenia, by the Who. Downloaded it, got Tommy, and went on...

zarathustra

My four favorite musical artists came about pretty boring ways.

They are: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Band.

Bob Dylan was really my first introduction to classic Rock: my mother was watching The Last Waltz on PBS about 5 years ago and I saw this ugly, awkward, extremely Jewish man wearing an outfit out of a John Wayne Movie, playing Forever Young, and I coulndn't get enough of it. The next day I purchased The Essentials: Bob Dylan, and within a year had purchased over 15 albums of his (I now own 28). Suffice it to say, I consider him to be the single most monumental artist of all nonclassical music ever. Blonde on Blonde is his greatest album .

But, with that, I then decided to immerse myself in what I had been told was the greatest band ever, The Beatles. I purhcased the Greatest Hits set and fell in love with their late period stuff (which, in my previous ignorance, barely knew existed). My favourite album of theirs is Abbey Road, with the medley of songs at the end being the most cathartic experiance to be had in Rock music.

And, after listening and loving the Beatles so much, it was only natural to check out the band that has been (unfairly) labled their rebellious doppleganger, The Rolling Stones. Boy, these guys sure do like those guitar riffs, huh! Well, purchased Forty Licks, loved it, then bought their four "serious" albums, from Beggars Banquet to Exile on Main St., and loved each and every one. Exile's encyclopedaic approach to Rock Music has certainly left an indelible impression on me and is currently my favorite album of all time.

And The Band... Well, they did back Dylan back in 66', so pruchasing their albums seemed to be sort of logical. All very professional and very rootsy. All very good. My favorite album of theirs is Music From Big Pink, but it could easily be their self titled second album; I can't really decide.

stockguru92

I have been told by more than one individual that I should have lived in the late 1960's. I've decided that they are absolutely right.

My favorite musical artists are The Beatles, The Who, the Doors, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan.

The Beatles were a childhood experience for me - when I was a kid, my cousins used to love listening to them. I listened to a lot of their stuff with them and then soon moved on to downloading my own music by the Beatles. I really like more of their "pop" music of the invasion years. Of course, I managed to grow sick of them after a few years and then it came back to me in a few years. My take: At one point in every person's life, he or she should listen to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It is by far the greatest album recorded in music - it wasn't just a concept album. It was more of the Beatles slapping the rest of the critics who said that they would fail after they stopped touring. It introduced the new technology and experimentation with music. It was recorded by a band that couldn't read sheet music. It prophesized the future of the "flower power" movement - especially before it hit its peak in '69. In short: if you think the Beatles aren't good because old people listen to them, you're not very smart.

The Who was more of a look into the hard-hitting realm of rock for me. I first head Baba O'Riley and was amazed how overpowering they could be. Then I heard Tommy. This album is almost near perfect - it tells the story of a person through music - a feat which seems near impossible until Townshend conquered it. Tommy is heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

The Doors was more of my rebellious period - they are a step away from the norm. Morrison has fun with playfully sinister lyrics. He sings with passion and Morrison Hotel is a great album - listen to it.

Zeppelin is a combination of head banging drumming, great guitar solos, and cryptic lyrics. Listen to Led Zeppelin IV - my favorite.

Dylan is best lyricist/poet in the history of music. PERIOD. Highway 61 is when he made his shift from the acoustic to the electric and it's a great shift.

HisGraceFillsMe

My four favorites right now are Emmy Rossum (really good music to relax to), BarlowGirl, Keith Urban, Maroon 5 and Brian Littrell (yes, my tastes are wide and varied).

I'm also a big fan of John Rutter (conductor of the Cambridge Singers). I love madrigals.

woeiseponine

As of right now, I'm really starting to get into The Beatles, Regina Spektor, Moldy Peaches, and the Blow. The last two bands were recommended to me by a friend of mine (yay for mellow chill indie pop), and the first two were just artists that you can't really go without knowing since their music is everywhere, you know? I wouldn't call myself a fan just yet, but... I'm getting there, haha. I'm especially digging the Beatles as of lately, can't believe I spent so long without them in my life! Because of them, it's caused me to start looking into other bands of that same style/genre/time, like the Doors and Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

For me, my music tastes come and go... I don't have favorites for very long. For a really long time all I listened to was Dead Kennedys, Rancid, Death from Above 1979, the Ramones, etc., and newer alternative stuff like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ok GO, and Lola Ray. I'm not picky about music, really. It only matters if it sounds good to my ears.

Also, as a pianist, I gotta have mad love for Beethoven fa sho fa sho.

teenage_cliche

Oh, good question.

I don't -really- do favorite artists. I'm inclined to listen to one song over and over again, and recently those songs have been:

Vogue, Madonna
Apologize, OneRepublic feat. Timbaland
Numb (Encore), Jay-Z feat. Linkin Park
Kathleen, Josh Ritter
Across the Universe, Beatles

ivychan

I'm a little biased towards Asian artists (especially Japanese ones, although I'm not Japanese).

My favorite artists are: The GazettE, Dir en Grey, PIERROT, and Jay Chou (Super Junior's also good, but they have too many people)

MegaVortex7

Incubus, The Mars Volta, and The Fall of Troy are my favorites. I found them all through my friends.

lavieboheme

thelittlemermaid - you didn't possibly find out about REM from Anthony Rapp's book?

Recently I've been listening to a cappella music. Blame my friend who brought me to an a cappella competition.

thelittlemermaid

lavieboheme: I did, actually. It was a really good book.

Chipmoney

Modest Mouse
Rammstein
the Decemberists
Say Anything
The Fall of Troy
Red Hot Chili Peppers
John Mayer
Kashmir
Gorillaz
Rage Against the Machine
The Shins

I have a lot...and I have the complete discography for 6 of those artists...RHCP is 2.5 gigs...

elven_hobbit

My favorites are Radiohead, Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Rasputina, and Belle and Sebastian.
I found Radiohead after picking up The Bends after hearing so much about the band without actually every having listened to them.

With Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth, I found them because of iTunes recommendations, and quickly bought The Woods and Daydream Nation respectively.

I discovered Rasputina because of two factors: my cello playing and the fact that one of their songs was on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I found Belle and Sebastian on an iTunes playlist entitled something like "Harry Potter Indie Rock" and was immediately hooked.

prints

Favorites are Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Smiths, and Wolf Parade.

Arcade Fire and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are just those bands that everyone knows and hears about.

The Smiths - Marr is a member of Modest Mouse, who I was obsessed with for a long while (although I wouldn't be lying if I said I still am), and after a period of procrastination, I finally downloaded their album and fell in love immediately.

Wolf Parade - I have no idea. I think just from random sites online. I had eventually heard about them enough to download an album. I was immediately hooked.

anna5631

The Beatles, Zeppelin, RHCP, Elvis Costello, Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Nirvana, Eva Cassidy.

Beatles: When I was 6 years old, I found Rubber Soul, bacame obsessed with it, and learned all of the words. They were the only band I listened to until I was about 9 or 10. I can listen to them in any mood and they're always incredible. They were truly revolutionary artists. And has anyone heard/seen "Love", the Cirque du Soleil show? The soundtrack is really, really good.

Led Zeppelin: My brother used to listen to them all of the time, and watch their DVDs. What I love about them is that they can be so hard-core, blusey, and sensitive at the same time. "White Summer Black Mountain Slide" is my favorite escape from high school life. Not only did Zeppelin influence a lot of future music artists, they were major influences on *several* genres of music. Today's music can't compare with that stuff.

RHCP: Listened to them on the radio, liked them, and found their earlier CDs. They're crazy. Flea is amazing. I mean, I love all of their funky stuff, but their regular songs are good, too.

Elvis Costello: I think we had one of his CDs lying around, so I listened to it. I like his music a lot, but love his voice. LOVE his voice.

Velvet Underground: No idea how I got into them. Probably satellite radio. Really weird, trippy, and good at the same time. I'm agnostic, but when I listen to Lou Reed, I feel like I'm hearing the voice of God. Some of their songs I can listen to endlessly, and I don't know why I never get sick of them.

Talking Heads: My parents used to love them. They are so strange. I love how David Byrne has such a horrible voice, but it sounds so good with the music. Like, it sounds flat, but that's how it's supposed to be. And the way he uses his range is so unconventional, but it works.

Nirvana: Heard one of their songs on satellite radio, and was surprised by how much I liked it. It was probably "Lithium." Call it headbanging music or whatever. They wrote some really good songs, and it's NOT just a bunch of noise.

Eva Cassidy: My mom got one of her CDs after hearing about her on NPR. Jazz singer who died of cancer a few years ago. If you like dance, she sang "Wade in the Water" (Alvin Ailey). Not only did she have a gorgeous voice, but she had amazing musicality. Listen to her album "Songbird."