The expansion of my musical tastes, particularly in jazz, usually occurred for one of two reasons:
1. a good friend laid something new on me that I liked;
2. the guy who manages the jazz section at my local Tower Records either suggested or played something that I liked (yes, it makes sense to cultivate a relationship with someone in a retail record store).
Like others, I also subscribe to a number of audio mags, and sometimes try recordings they recommend. Interestingly, some of the best ideas for new recordings to try have come from "The Sensible Sound" magazine.
Most recently, I got hooked on the Naxos label, and have subsequently acquired a number of CD's of 20th Century classical composers that I probably would not have otherwise tried. At $6-7 per CD, it was inexpensive to try some new material. On the whole, I've been quite pleased with the Naxos label -- and did a post about a month ago of about 45 of the CD's that have gotten multiple, positive critical reviews.
I wish that more people who read this forum regularly would take 10-15 minutes every month or two to post an informative review of a recording they think has particular merit -- older recordings as well as new.
1. a good friend laid something new on me that I liked;
2. the guy who manages the jazz section at my local Tower Records either suggested or played something that I liked (yes, it makes sense to cultivate a relationship with someone in a retail record store).
Like others, I also subscribe to a number of audio mags, and sometimes try recordings they recommend. Interestingly, some of the best ideas for new recordings to try have come from "The Sensible Sound" magazine.
Most recently, I got hooked on the Naxos label, and have subsequently acquired a number of CD's of 20th Century classical composers that I probably would not have otherwise tried. At $6-7 per CD, it was inexpensive to try some new material. On the whole, I've been quite pleased with the Naxos label -- and did a post about a month ago of about 45 of the CD's that have gotten multiple, positive critical reviews.
I wish that more people who read this forum regularly would take 10-15 minutes every month or two to post an informative review of a recording they think has particular merit -- older recordings as well as new.