obscure music tracker?

[Quarterquack]

As a general rule, anything that ends in "core" should be avoided

And yet metalcore/melodic death metal is one of the most popular genres of metal out there (right under viking/folk metal in the hierarchy, and I hope that joke isn't wasted).
Linkinpark's rapcore seems to be embraced by many a new band.

[4rainertunes]

I'd recommend a filesharing program called Soulseek (slsk.net). I know standalone filesharing programs aren't cool these days, but it's the best source I've found for rare music. It's slow, you have to wait in line for files, etc...but it's great if you're looking for that rare b-side. I use Waffles for What.cd for everything else.

[th0r]

For an example of metal that sounds completely different, maybe compare some Doom stuff like Sun O))) to any generic thrash stuff like Slayer.

srsly, if you're going to mention this group of pure brain melting drone awesomeness, at least spell it right:

sunn0)))

[beshawn]

The problem with the idea of an obscure music tracker is getting a userbase together that actually appreciates it. It's generally obscure for a reason... Right now there's quite a few obscure/rare albums on soulseek, which other people have mentioned as a source. There's also blogs dedicated to obscure music, some contain all genres while others focus on very specific types of music or releases (e.g. rare 7" records, country-specific releases, or era-specific releases).

So if you care about finding obscure music (and more importantly HEARING it) and aren't an audiophile who needs FLAC, you really have more options than ever before by having a good music tracker (what.cd comes to mind), soulseek, and a folder of bookmarked blogs

The quality of MP3s you find on soulseek and blogs will vary, 128 bit MP3s are still prevalent, but slowly going the way of the dodo; considering the releases may be vinyl only, limited to X amount of editions, or just very rare if you want to hear the music its still worth it, at least it is to me.

Google is your friend for blogs, and you can learn about Soulseek here: http://www.slsknet.org/

[elbuitre]

The best thing you can do is to have all sources you can get, Soulseek/private trackers/google is often your best chance of getting something you're looking for. As for obscure music trackers to, i guess the obvious that have been mentioned indietorrents and shellife. Shellife having a similar rule to what you are mentioning, no mainstream releases allowed, regardless of label. Both are different sites though no doubt, with a different style of music and in general. If you're looking for things harsh, like punk or noise, go for IT; If however, you are more interested in the lush, pretty side of music shellife has more of it.

As a repository of obscure music, that's the whole idea of p2p, am i right? We all backup some stuff, and we need websites to gather to share. what (or a huge site like that) is the best for that end right now, and it's on the hands of its users to not letting files disappear. All too idealistic i know but it's surprising how big this thing is.