[ctviggen]

I find some music here, but I find more using -- of all things -- NPR (national public radio).  For instance,
I listened to three of these artists, and liked all three enough to buy their music* (haven't had time to listen to the other two):

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/07/143267601/5-must-hear-discoveries-of-2011-from-kexp

* -- I asked for these for Christmas; not sure I got them.

I also thought this was good enough, I bought it:

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/09/143453381/first-listen-john-zorn-a-dreamers-christmas?ft=3&f=114113159&sc=nl&cc=mn-20111212

[jtwrace]

Friends, auditions and most of all on my hour drive to work with XM radio on.

[Big Red Machine]

Reviewers mention tracks that they like to use in auditioning gear and I often buy those to try.

[frank111]

 I go to youtube, type in a band or song I enjoy, they always provide bands/songs in the same genre, and I give them a listen. Recently found Billy Stewart who'd I'd never heard before & now enjoy. I also listen to NPR in the evening with a pen/paper nearby.

[SlushPuppy]

Clearance bins. That's where all the good stuff is. If you want what everyone else has, look in the higher-priced top bins. Me, I sit on the floor and throw everything that looks interesting into my basket. When I'm done I find a quiet spot in the store and sample everything with my portable CD player. Last week I bought 52 mint condition CD's for around $70. Since I've already listened to them there's no chance I won't like them. Most need new cases, but that's a small price to pay.

[low.pfile]

I listen to a lot of XM/Sirius also.

But lot of my music leads come from:
KCRW's stream (where NPR main gets lots of its music)
NPR interludes
Pitchfork.com
Stereogum.com
Soundhound/Shazam iphone apps (real time music identifiers)
youtube/vimeo
amazon
musicstack
allmusic.com
pandora
friends

[Phil A]

Some here, pauseandplay.com, some from friends, some from radio

[roscoeiii]

When going through used record bins, I often go to allmusic to get reviews of specific albums of artists I am not familiar with, so I can hopefully start with a highly regarded album of theirs.

Looking for newer releases and more adventurous stuff, I go to Pitchfork daily. Can't beat 5 reviews a day, many from small obscure labels that magazines and other review sites may not cover. Also a wide range of genres are reviewed.

NPR music has been doing a great job lately. Love their selection of albums streaming prior to their release.

And then there're AC threads and other audiophile oriented websites and magazines.

Lastly, when I am unsure of which pressing of a record is preferable in terms of sound quality, Steve Hoffman forums are a great resource.

[Len_Dreyer]

AudioCircle threads, recently got an education on jazz guitarists.
Hober Internet Radio
KPIG FM/Internet Radio
Pandora
Friend's Youtube postings on Facebook.
Seeing live music.
Allmusic - In addition to rating albums, they also recommend similar artists to the one your checking out.