Sorry gals, but my advice is the exact opposite. GET OFF THE COMPUTER!!!

Read, read, read. Borrow music from your library, your friends, whoever. Read liner notes. Who are the people you like influenced by? Chances are you'll like that too. Folks are always dropping names, check those people out. Get out, go for a walk, and find a dingy hole-in-the-wall record store and ask the guy/gal behind the counter, storehouses of useless knowledge waiting to be tapped, and they are free. What bands do you already enjoy? And who is on the same label? Smaller labels tend to have listener-compatible folks, you might like them too. Go to festivals, sessions, clubs, hear what people play and if you hear something you like, ask the participants about it. Go man go.

When you are too tired to go anymore, come back and tell us all about it. Welcome to the Mudcat!!!

~J