Ah Reddit, the land of crazy cat pictures, supposed murder confessions and Nicolas Cage memes. Dubbed “The Front Page of the Internet,” Reddit hosts some of the best and worst of what the world wide web has to offer, music included. If you’re like me, browsing the generic r/Music subreddit rarely facilitates any serious musical discovery. The thread is riddled with reposts and only artists with considerable notoriety seem to gain enough upvotes to reach the top of the page, shoving new and upcoming acts down. Thankfully, amidst myriad subreddits discussing the finer points of screaming fish and helicopters with upper-body extremities, some quality music subreddits exist for the music nerd in all of us. Check out our list of eight of the best niche music subreddits below.
1. r/JazzNoir
The posts on r/JazzNoir are not limited to a specific genre, but rather a certain atmosphere. The tracks featured here would sound right at home soundtracking 1940’s crime drama starring Bogart or Mitchum. Jazz, classical and trip-hop cuts all abound here in this sultry and at times ominous corner bar of the Reddit music sphere.
2. r/Minimalism_Music
Sometimes less really is more, and that’s exactly the mantra behind this subreddit. Placing a heavy focus on minimalist composers of the 1960’s like Phillip Glass and Terry Riley, r/Minimalism_Music is a solid introduction to the simplicity and beauty of this often overlooked style of composing.
3. r/noisefuck
There hasn’t been much activity in this subreddit as of late, but combing through the archives of r/noisefuck yields some pretty great results. Described as “a huge fuck you to all other music subreddits,” r/noisefuck plays host to noise, post-punk and garage of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The submitted tunes are often pretty aggressive, constituting a major “fuck you” indeed.