My music collection is probably larger than the average person’s, but pales in comparison to the vast archives of some of my friends. In late 2011, I noticed that it also hardly grows. I buy maybe four to eight CDs and four or five vinyl records (usually Drum & Bass twelve-inch singles) per year. I can’t remember the last time I downloaded music via file sharing, and I bought my first digital record only a few weeks ago.

By hardly expanding my collection, I seldom listened to something new. That gap was filled mostly by radio (especially Ö1’s and FM4’s late night programming) but ever since I have been working full-time, that is out of the question all too often.

That is why came up with the following New Year’s Resolution:

New Year’s Resolution: Each week, listen to at least 2 musicians/bands I’ve never listened to before. #musiclove

— Florian Prischl (@flo_p) Januar 11, 2012

I started a weekly list of new-to-me music and publish it in a public Google Doc.

The idea met with very positive response from my friends and I have received many suggestions from all kinds of genres. You can follow my list throughout the year and I invite you to let me know about your favorite band or musician! Feel free to share with me via comment on this post, via the Google Doc or on Twitter.

Finally, to let you explore the list (or at least everything that’s on YouTube from that list), I also made a public YouTube playlist for it. Enjoy!

I can already say that it has exposed me to tons of new music I would have never thought to try. While I do not like everything I listen to under this Resolution (that is not a requirement), I have found some real gems and continue to explore new things I find on my own, but mostly through recommendations and shares from my friends.