The First Half

I still get amazed at how much my access to music has improved with the availability of Rdio. The mantra of “access is greater than ownership” that has been enabled by the push for cloud computing has really run true for me, at least as far as music is concerned. My ability to find new music went only as far as my pocketbook was deep with iTunes.

With Rdio, I’ve suddenly had access to a variety of artists that were brand new to me. And that, my friends, has been a blessing. Here are a few of my new favorite artists from the first half of 2011. If you’re on an iPad/iPhone, view my Dashboard in Rdio here.

The Black Keys

Danger Mouse

Röyksopp

Mumford & Sons

Blue Sky Black Death

Gorillaz

The Year of the Soundtrack

I would be remiss to not mention the amazing soundtracks that have been featured heavily in my rotation. These four albums are all fantastic: Inception, Tron Legacy, The Book of Eli, and The Social Network.

Jun 15, 2011