If this were an age when all that you had was the radio, Pre MTV days, it would have been a little rough, although a trip to a library or a listen to late night radio might offer a few pointers. Still, at that time, you really had to risk a few dollars to actually hear of something is to your taste or not.
Today, there's no excuse to complain because there's a lot of good music being made that's easy to find. Sorry, but even if, to quote Noel Gallagher, "The choreographers have taken over the world" when it comes to Pop music, that does not mean that there are no audio fire escapes from the burning building that is the Mainstream Music Industry.
The mainstream industry has a bottom line to deal with, and after having an era where it just gave videos away to MTV while making the bands pay the bill during the Top 40 Buffet of the 80's and 90's, it was left with some kind of debt that was huge enough to get rid of anything called taking a chance. That means people like me and possibly over half of this set of posters are pushed out of the market research most of the time unless if someone with a good image that sells attracts an audience enough for the industry to notice something else is out there.
Yes, that means that you have to run through Spotify, read sites like Pitchfork (despite it's critics, it does offer some pointers), and take some time to hear some music that you have not heard of but will spend very little money. If it attracts, and you like it, case closed...just don't expect much of the great stuff to even break #100 on the charts or see your neighbors or classmates to know about it.
Back in my day, the alternative shows were mainly on Sunday Nights in 2-4-hour blocks, and MAYBE there would be a station that would play part of what I was looking for. I had to have friends who know of publications which would write about music and even stumble upon other magazines and newspapers plus travel many miles back and forth. Now, you have the safety of your home and the Internet.
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