My 12 Favourite Youtube channels for music

I thought I'd share my 12 favourite Youtube channels for music. Why twelve? Well, originally it was going to be a top ten but there were two channels I just couldn't leave out. I've listed these in no particular order.

Obviously as you can tell from my recent posts, my musical preferences are for metal/hard rock/classic rock/progressive rock/alternative rock and these are the genres that these Youtube channels specialise in.

After the linked video for each channel, I'm going to share an image of my copy of an album by a band that I had never heard of before this channel introduced me to them, and whose music I've got into purely because of the channel. These bands may be of interest to you too. I would encourage you to watch these channels if you are interested in these genres and would like to be introduced to fresh, unfamiliar rock music, both old and new- from the 1960s to the present day.

1. Sea of Tranquility

Sea of Tranquility is one of the largest music channels on Youtube, specialising in all genres of rock. The channel is run by Pete Pardo, an American based in New York State. He creates themed videos with friends and collaborators: album rankings, reviews, lists, best songs, etc. Most of the channels I will list here follow a similar format in terms of their Youtube content. The Sea of Tranquility channel was launched from a music webzine of the same name. The channel has introduced me to lots of bands and albums that were previously unknown to me (and you can find the videos about them on his channel), such as:

Savatage, 1980s-2000s, American power/progressive metal band

Be-Bop Deluxe, 1970s British progressive/art rock band led by Bill Nelson

Cactus, early 1970s American classic hard rock band

Gentle Giant, 1970s British progressive rock band

Sir Lord Baltimore, late 1960s/1970s American hard rock/early heavy metal band

2. Niamh the Prog Nerd

I've mentioned Niamh the Prog Nerd on this blog before. She's a young British progressive rock and metal fan. From her channel I discovered Steve Hillage's band prior to Gong:

Khan, 1970s British progressive rock band from the Canterbury scene, formed by Steve Hillage.

Focus, classic Dutch progressive rock band

3. Fairly Secret Music

David from Fairly Secret Music is an American drummer based in Minnesota, I believe. He has a very cool channel showing off his amazing CD collection and I've been introduced to a lot of obscurities by watching his videos and checking out bands and albums he recommends. These include:

Lord Weird Slough Feg, 1990- present American heavy metal band

Hammers of Misfortune, 1990s- present American heavy metal band

4. BryceTalksMetal

BryceTalksMetal is a young American guy from Georgia, I believe; he effectively has a PhD in most genres of metal and hard rock- extremely knowledgeable. He introduced me to a thrash metal band that I'd overlooked years ago...

Annihilator, late 1980s-present Canadian thrash band led by Jeff Waters

5. Quest For Metal

Questy is BryceTalksMetal in British form. Questy managed to get me into Norwegian Black Metal, such as-

Emperor, Norwegian black metal band led by Ihsahn (Vegard Sverre Tveitan)

6. Classic Album Review

Barry at Classic Album Review is a British academic who focuses on classic and progressive rock, with occasional metal/alternative music covered. He does interesting unboxings such as this one, which introduced me to

Rare Bird, late 1960s-mid 1970s British progressive rock band

7. Metal Mickey

Mike (Metal Mickey) is a self-described 'middle aged metal fan'. He's based in Cumbria (I believe) and he answered my question in one of his recent Q & As.  He has a broad range of metal likes and interests, across extreme, death, black, classic and glam metal.

He introduced me to this excellent band from Switzerland- Celtic Frost meets Megadeth?

Coroner, 1980s-1990s Swiss thrash/progressive metal band

8. ClarkOVision

Bev at ClarkOVision is based in Scotland. She is a big Def Leppard fan and a fan of Steve Clark, that band's late guitarist - hence her channel name. She specialises in a lot of power metal, symphonic metal, and melodic rock bands. She's introduced me to a number of bands I didn't know such as-

Glacier, 1980s-present American traditional heavy/power metal band

Orphaned Land, Israeli heavy metal band formed in 1991

Sabaton, Swedish power metal band formed in 1999

Screamer, Swedish traditional heavy metal band of the 2010s

9. Darcy Six Strings Nine Lives

Darcy is based in Canada and a huge metal fan and a specialist in thrash! He can introduce you to many a mighty thrashterpiece....such as those from this band below, which like Annihilator I had also missed first time round-

Forbidden, 1980s/1990s American thrash metal band 

10. Old Head

Old 'Metal' Head isn't so old...he's a similar age to me and has the same first name. He's based in Houston, Texas. I really enjoy his channel - in particular his 'Cranked and Ranked' series with Eddie Sparxx and his 'Old' Headbangers Ball. He's introduced me to a couple of interesting bands I wasn't previously aware of- 

Helmet, 1990s American alternative metal band

Sacred Reich, 1980s/1990s American thrash metal band

11. The Omaha Introvert

Hanna is the Omaha Introvert; an American based in Omaha, Nebraska. Her channel is slightly different from others mentioned so far as she does not focus on metal apart from some classic hard rock and metal. She primarily enjoys power pop, shoegaze and a wide range of alternative rock/punk/new wave/soft rock/pop genres. However, I like a lot of the bands she mentions such as The Clash, Talking Heads, The Byrds, Big Star etc. She introduced me to one artist I hadn't heard of before, Robyn Hitchcock.

The Soft Boys, 1970s British rock band led by Robyn Hitchcock

12. Brendon Snyder

Last but certainly not least with his amazing music collection is an American based in New York, Brendon Snyder. He's a great person and his CD collection is very impressive.

A couple of bands I discovered from Brendon's channel were:-

The Alan Parsons Project, 1970s/1980s British progressive rock band

Spocks Beard, 1990s/2000s American neo-progressive rock band

Old school - going to buy vinyl records or CDs from record stores- remember those?