# Your favorite "Suggestion Engine"



## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

When I search for--or listen/watch--music on YouTube, the "Recommended" panel on right-side of a normal browser window usually throws up some very helpful suggestions.
YT is, hence, my favorite "suggestion engine". 

I also like the TC threads "Currently Listening..." and "Latest Purchases".

Not sure about Spotify ... if enough of you recommend in a reply to this post, I'll definitely check it out.

Pre-internet (and up until the mid-2000s), I used to use record club suggestions. 

As the internet began, and before You Tube technology became more powerful, Amazon was a decent suggester.


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## fliege (Nov 7, 2017)

I find suggestion engines not useful with classical music. The lay of the land is quite clear and I never have issues deciding what sort of stuff I want to listen to next and where I can find it. I do like Spotify, however. The available selection is very good and the curated playlists are helpful. I have indeed found new material though these. e.g. I've discovered performers and pieces I like via the cello playlist.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

fliege said:


> The available selection is very good and the curated playlists are helpful.


I think the topic of "curated playlists" or curated selections is an important one.

I mentioned record clubs ... surely, BMG or Columbia put forth some academic effort in selecting their staff. Ditto for BBC Music Magazine.

But there is huge fun factor in physically "flipping thru the bins" at record stores or the public library ... and all its knowledge-discovery benefits.


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## Guest (May 26, 2019)

I have similar views to the poster above. 

I only very rarely glance at "currently listening" threads on T-C, and have never taken heed of anything put forward, as I find them to be quite meaningless, involving no commentary at all most of the time. They're a complete waste of time in my opinion. 

I don't use YouTube for classical music. All I've ever used YT for is to download some Monty Python sketches, and for things like how to fix a leaking roof. I don't use Amazon. 

I do get some of my recommendations for new CDs from the BBC's weekly "Record Review" radio programme. But on the whole I don't need any advice on what to get next, partly because I already possess mostly all I'll ever need to acquire, and partly because I am reasonably confident that I know my way round the repertoire without the need for any guidance. 

That doesn't mean I don't have any need for more classical music material. I'm always on the lookout for possibly better recordings of certain works that I already have, or maybe to fill the odd gap here and there in my collection. For example, I recently had an intensive upgrade of my limited recordings of works by NIkos Skalkottas, and now have 6 new CDs covering most of his work from piano to chamber to orchestral and choral. 

For all such purposes, I use Presto Classical, which I find to be an excellent music site. It lists a vast amount of classical music, and it's all easily found, together with many useful recommendations by professional reviewers. I normally acquire 1-2 CDs or downloads per week.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

The main reason I participate on TC is to read about what other classical lovers are enjoying and also share my own experiences. I've found the Current Listening thread and others invaluable for learning about new recordings as well as many old ones I was unaware of. There are some members here whose opinions I value and have listened to and/or purchased CDs based on their recommendations. And I've been pleased when I saw that others have done the same with a few of my recommendations. This site is far more useful to me than Amazon or any of the magazines and has proven so time and again. So TC is my suggestion engine.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

A "suggestion engine" can be a "routine". A quotidian ritual. 

E.g., a post in the Currently Listening thread may lead me to search for a piece in YouTube. And it's almost always on YouTube -- along with Suggestions. These suggestion lead me to discover channels that feature certain genres (and I subscribe to many of them). 

I also use various blogs (Blogger or Blogspot) and Discogs for research.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I have made some nice finds, like Vikingur Olaffson's Glass and Bach, using the NPR yearly "best of" lists.

https://www.npr.org/sections/decept...6208/npr-musics-best-classical-albums-of-2018

I also of course occasionally scan the discussions here.

But mostly, I get suggestions from reading, like Jan Swafford's Vintage Guide, or biographies/histories.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

13hm13 said:


> When I search for--or listen/watch--music on YouTube, the "Recommended" panel on right-side of a normal browser window usually throws up some very helpful suggestions.
> YT is, hence, my favorite "suggestion engine".
> 
> I also like the TC threads "Currently Listening..." and "Latest Purchases".
> ...


Qobuz search is imaginative in that respect, I don't know whether I appreciate it or find it annoying, but it is surprisingly intelligent.


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## infracave (May 14, 2019)

YT suggestions usually don't do it for me.
I mainly try out new music based on what in read in wikipedia articles or in books.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I listen most of all to spotify and after a long time now they make recommendations in different lists in a folder named "made for you". The "release radar" gives me great tips for new things based on my listening. It has been useful even though I like to search around myself. Unfortunately I use spotify when teaching and I probably wouldn't listen to everything we hear at school...


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## Guest (May 27, 2019)

On second thoughts, further to what I wrote earlier, I didn't intend to suggest that advice gleaned from lists produced at T-C are of little or no use to anyone. 

On the contrary they may indeed be very useful to some people, as a great deal depends on one's knowledge and previous experience in collecting classical music. I recall that when I began to collect classical music in a serious and determined manner, not just make the odd purchase, I found websites like this one to be of great value. 

Right now, here at T-C, I would recommend that people look at the Recommended lists of top works for symphonies, concertos, chamber works of various types, etc, as listed in the relevant section of the Forum. For the best recordings of the various works, however, I still prefer to look elsewhere. That is because I have learned out of past experience which for me are the best places to look and whose opinions I trust the most. My choices here may well not suit other people.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

"Customers who bought this item also bought"


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

I forgot to add an important engine: radio. 
Here in Los Angeles, we have KUSC (a univ. FM and internet station). I will usually listen to it, on plain old small radio Walkman and earphones, while doing household errands. 
I have tried "internet radio" thru iTunes (many of these are streaming versions std. FM broadcast stations). Streaming or broadcast, I prefer the well-established broadcast stations. The advantage with streaming is the immediate metadata that scrolls as music plays.


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