There are only two words you need to know regarding finding new music:

College Radio

Yeah, I know, "since empeg, we all have forgotten about radio." Since I've been stuck with cassette and radio for the last 7 years (since I started driving), I've grown quite fond of the radio (hence my double-din empeg + cd/radio install (coming in three days!!)).

So, yes, college radio. It's the closest thing to the empeg you can get without buying a small record store. College radio often has no commercials, infrequent interruptions from announcers/DJ's, and is chocked full of music that you've probably never heard before. I have yet to hear a college radio station play ANY "Top 40" or, for that matter, anything from a major record label (excluding Classical, Jazz, and Motown/Soul programming).

Best of all, when you hear a song you like, just grab your cell phone and call the bored college-aged DJ who's serving it up. They should be able to give you all the info you need to know in order to get the music. Works for me; my "CDs To Get" list is huge.

The downsides are that this indie music (be it Rock, Punk, Techno, Folk, or anything else) is generally hard to find in stores etc. Worse yet, you most likely can not find it in MP3 on the internet.

The upsides are that when you DO find the CD's, they are generally dirt cheap. Buying one often helps lead you to other albums on the record label (plug: check out Dischord for punk and Nettwerk for techno).

Oh, and about downloading indie songs off the internet, wouldn't you rather support quality, talented indie musicians who aren't sell outs? Yeah, I think the indie folks deserve it.