5 albums I'd never have discovered without Spotify

I think Spotify may be the greatest online service ever created. As a lover of music finding new stuff that was any good used to be a bit of a chore. It was either a dodgy stream from MySpace, an illegal download or a speculative order from Amazon. Don't get me wrong I've found some great stuff due to speculative purchases from Amazon. I discovered Modest Mouse in 2000 after a bored search for “Mouse” while waiting for some code to compile or something.

But Spotify has changed all that. Now in just a few mouse clicks I can have the full album playing on my computer. So, in no particular order, here are 5 great finds that I'd never have discovered without Spotify.

1. “Don't Dissapoint Us Now” by Decoration.
   A touch of the Wedding Present from this Bolton band but a little more rocky. Dry, witty songs with a very distinctive, northern, vocal. “Fly North” is my favourite track. Can't remember where I actually first read about them but I now own all three of their albums.
2. “Sisterworld” by Liars.
   Some quality New York synth/punk with blistering beats and awesome vocals. The opening track “Scissor” starts slow and then blows you away and “Scarecrows On A Killer Slant” is just fantastic.
3. “Lisbon” by The Walkmen.
   This gets better on every listen. Contemporary garage rock with a unique, 60s style sound that comes from, by all accounts, their habit of playing old instruments. Although this album is superb, my favourite track by these guys is “The Rat” from their earlier album “Bows + Arrows”. It's almost perfect.
4. “Greatest Hits” by Bruce Springsteen.
   OK so I'm a little slow off the starting blocks here but after years of assuming I didn't like The Boss I finally decided I should actually listen to some of his music. Apologies to all those to whom I've dissed him, especially my brother who probably got the brunt of it.
5. “Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra” by (unsurprisingly) Micah P. Hinson.
   This is brilliant. Another of those scary country singers who sounds like he's in his 70s and is actually under 30. His biography includes fundamentalist Christian parents, drug abuse, jail, homelessness and all the other ingredients of a wonderfully bitter-sweet sound that is reminiscent of the best of Jonny Cash.

It's probably also worth mentioning at this point that I have gone out and bought all of the above albums on CD with the exception of Bruce Springsteen. Also, apologies to anyone in the USA who can't get this service yet. One day you may also be blessed as we have been.