Top 100 Independent Music Blogs Of 2021

I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of these lists.

They all include the same 20 music sites.

And don’t get me wrong, they’re generally great sites and well-deserving of the honor.

But I didn’t want to add yet another listing of the exact same blogs to the mix, so I decided to focus on independent blogs only.

These are generally smaller blogs owned and run by one person or maybe a couple of people working together. They do not have huge teams and they are not owned by a large media corporation.

Again, those other blogs are great, but I thought these blogs deserved some recognition, too.

My own opinion did not factor into these rankings at all. They are based purely on data provided by 5 independent sources.

I’m sure you’ve got some questions regarding the scoring, etc. I answer them below. You can skip straight down to the answers by clicking on the following links:

 

The Top 100 Independent Music Blogs Of 2021

[table “4nbsp” not found /]

 

How are the sites scored?

To rank the top 100 sites, we first gathered ranking data from 5 different independent sources that evaluate websites. The sites we used and the specific data from each site are as follows:

• Alexa — the Global Traffic Rank (lower is better) from alexa.com
• Similar Web — Global Rank (lower is better) from similarweb.com
• SEM Rush — SEMrush Rank (lower is better) from semrush.com
• SERP Stat — SE Traffic (higher is better) from serpstat.com
• DA — Domain Authority (higher is better) from moz.com

Then we ranked the sites from best to worst according to each source and assigned a score of 1-100, with the best site getting a 100 and the worst getting a 1. Sites with the same ranking were assigned the same scores.

For example, let’s take the Alexa ranking. The site with the highest ranking is Brooklyn Vegan. It got the highest score: a 100. There were three sites tied for the lowest ranking. Each of those sites got 1 point.

In this way, a score was assigned to each site for each of the independent rankings. Those scores were then combined to get the total score, which determines the final ranking in the top 100 list.

If you’re curious about the actual rankings from each of the independent sites, we’ve got another ranking table below that includes those values.

 

Why isn’t my site on the list? / How can I get my site on the list?

We tried to find as many music-related blogs as possible, but fully realize we overlooked a lot of them. That is unfortunately unavoidable.

If you have a site you think should be included, check the table with the raw ranking data below to see how your site compares. If it beats the lowest site on the list, that means it belongs in our top 100!

To submit a site, head to our contact page and send us a message. Please write ‘top 100’ in the subject field, so that your message gets sorted properly. Without that subject line, there’s a chance it won’t get to the right person.

 

All Scores For The Top 100 Music Blogs

You’ll probably have to scroll the table, since it gets pretty large with all the values included. You can use the scroll-bar below the table or use the arrow keys after clicking anywhere on the table.

Rank	Site Name	Alexa Global Rank	Alexa Score	Similar Web Global Rank	Similar Web Score	SEMrush Rank	SEMrush Score	SERP Stat SE Traffic	SERP Stat Score	Moz DA	DA Score	Total Score
1	Brooklyn Vegan	34652	100	69796	100	14200	100	973026	100	78	100	500
2	Noise Addicts	183755	98	246039	99	76800	98	141909	98	47	88	481
3	Aquarium Drunkard	195184	96	362269	97	159000	94	50536	93	61	97	477
4	Turntable Kitchen	551306	87	446557	95	139000	95	74839	96	57	95	468
5	Live Ukulele	205496	95	285875	98	30600	99	764030	99	38	74	465
6	That Eric Alper	320358	93	459117	94	184000	92	42669	91	41	82	452
7	Deep House Amsterdam	228414	94	415695	96	217000	89	51717	94	39	77	450
8	Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise	434486	90	1102595	86	289000	86	12876	83	65	98	443
9	Live Music Blog	378590	91	957637	87	212000	90	26871	86	45	87	441
10	Buzz Bands LA	351586	92	1901432	78	248000	87	28372	87	56	94	438
11	EDM Identity	158472	99	462049	93	80500	97	67191	95	28	45	429
12	Soundtrack Geek	582966	85	649927	90	398000	85	20084	85	37	71	416
13	Buffett World	1789690	65	1139017	83	88300	96	86346	97	37	71	412
14	Fashionably Early	498756	89	580682	91	478000	82	7984	79	36	68	409
15	Largehearted Boy	713021	82	1544469	81	680000	73	4041	70	66	99	405
16	Indie Rock Cafe	1146306	76	1679107	79	603000	78	35384	88	41	82	403
17	Underground Hip Hop Blog	1089810	77	1129487	85	527000	81	13860	84	38	74	401
18	The Curious Brain	508754	88	1274537	82	710000	72	3735	68	42	84	394
19	Nashville Gab	1906955	61	5531081	52	191000	91	47125	92	51	90	386
20	Any Decent Music?	187668	97	558049	92	624000	77	1116	50	36	68	384
21	Artiden	1042953	78	855366	89	236000	88	37714	90	27	39	384
22	Musiclipse	959938	81	879091	88	417000	83	11369	82	28	45	379
23	Kings of A&R	2318913	56	1606494	80	405000	84	7522	78	36	68	366
24	Hear Ya	1558995	69	2863713	71	906000	66	4797	73	41	82	361
25	Indie Music Filter	1728020	66	4657686	56	896000	67	8040	80	41	82	351
26	The Come Up Show	1182089	75	1976140	77	1300000	63	2995	66	35	65	346
27	We All Want Someone To Shout For	1812700	64	4101362	62	1300000	63	2972	65	48	89	343
28	My Old Kentucky Blog	1564939	68	6702016	47	652000	76	2335	59	53	92	342
29	Ear To The Ground	997939	79	2359497	74	660000	75	3924	69	28	45	342
30	Chris Rowbury	1470968	71	3065547	68	866000	69	3393	67	35	65	340
31	Festival Mag	986864	80	1132821	84	1400000	60	8413	81	25	33	338
32	The Reviews Are In	551431	86	4861887	54	571000	79	7425	77	26	36	332
33	Emerging Indie Bands	676214	83	3583992	66	1600000	58	6538	75	29	49	331
34	Soul Sides	2234200	58	4660413	55	1100000	64	2051	56	56	94	327
35	Cover Lay Down	1828027	62	4135918	61	1600000	58	2685	62	42	84	327
36	Ovrld	2294276	57	8678593	35	177000	93	2647	61	38	74	320
37	Three Imaginary Girls	4504410	32	2918983	70	1700000	56	1503	54	53	92	304
38	Indie Band Guru	2663864	53	6048568	49	845000	70	2151	57	35	65	294
39	Blue Walrus	1318189	74	5146250	53	3100000	40	402	35	41	82	284
40	Jenn The PR	1510687	70	2574745	72	2000000	51	351	33	33	58	284
41	Indietronica	1639248	67	3596450	65	796000	71	1556	55	22	26	284
42	Nine Bullets	3356141	43	3915290	63	1800000	54	1254	52	37	71	283
43	EQ Music	2698081	51	8806041	33	1900000	52	2192	58	43	85	279
44	So Much Silence	4934175	30	2075655	76	5100000	21	817	45	45	87	259
45	Country Music News Blog	1435545	72	4185237	60	4200000	28	319	32	35	65	257
46	This Must Be Pop	2794527	50	3669295	64	2300000	47	948	46	29	49	256
47	Planet Hugill	4290286	35	16570523	9	664000	74	7231	76	34	61	255
48	House Banq	2081442	60	4343133	59	2300000	47	4254	71	15	15	252
49	Hooks And Harmony	4141789	36	7274855	43	1300000	63	2727	64	28	45	251
50	Funkish	2675312	52	6394684	48	895000	68	5659	74	12	7	249
51	That Music Mag	5662193	26	4424612	58	2200000	49	2372	60	30	53	246
52	Dance And Rave	635809	84	5871713	50	2200000	49	783	41	14	12	236
53	Chesney World	7337292	15	12190226	21	558000	80	37490	89	23	29	234
54	The Wolf In A Suit	2895261	49	6791506	45	1400000	60	787	42	24	32	228
55	All Noise	3495385	42	2166910	75	4900000	23	312	31	31	56	227
56	The Record Stache	3533390	40	7523398	41	2000000	51	814	44	29	49	225
57	Ryan's Rock Show	4637900	31	8000406	39	1800000	54	975	48	27	39	211
58	Country Fried Rock	3197716	44	9503559	30	3300000	36	445	36	34	61	207
59	White Folks Get Crunk	5963820	25	7576623	40	2600000	43	600	37	34	61	206
60	Hip Hop Encounter	1323605	73	15024319	12	3400000	35	288	29	30	53	202
61	Arctic Monkeys News	4139093	37	9617616	29	1700000	56	2710	63	17	16	201
62	Mad Mackerel	7974233	12	12745714	20	1000000	65	4515	72	22	26	195
63	A Country	3079311	45	9110628	32	3100000	40	224	24	30	53	194
64	Feast Of Music	8778305	9	13976162	14	2700000	42	609	38	39	77	180
65	Popped Music	2603804	54	7216101	44	6900000	13	94	20	28	45	176
68	Fense Post	2434037	55	8097235	37	4300000	27	165	23	24	32	174
66	No Dough Music	4451855	34	3223330	67	4100000	29	798	43	0	1	174
67	Scientists of Sound	6403650	21	14356646	13	3600000	32	1127	51	31	56	173
69	Midwest Action	6401693	22	10096569	28	2700000	42	236	26	30	53	171
70	Concert Crap	3500351	41	7388751	42	4500000	25	972	47	13	10	165
71	Caesar Live N Loud	2987251	46	10167826	26	6100000	15	981	49	22	26	162
72	You Ain't No Picasso	6747062	19	29606417	4	3400000	33	39	9	58	96	161
74	Music 2 Work 2	5243173	28	4566465	57	4400000	26	0	1	28	45	157
73	Music Is Amazing	17159742	3	10125968	27	5100000	21	255	28	39	77	156
75	Bold As Love Magazine	6827672	17	16569159	10	2300000	47	1483	53	23	29	156
78	The Techno Kittens	6694546	20	8078955	38	3700000	31	83	16	29	49	154
76	Future Classics	5056230	29	10294419	25	2400000	44	304	30	22	26	154
77	Right Chord Music	4474233	33	2930510	69	4500000	25	0	1	22	26	154
79	Musicophile's Blog	6244740	23	5638240	51	5200000	19	629	39	21	19	151
81	Indie Hip Hop	2090399	59	8133866	36	7200000	11	83	16	22	26	148
80	Driven Far Off	7679898	14	13024359	17	3200000	37	741	40	27	39	147
82	The Music Maze	3759323	38	12921398	19	3100000	40	372	34	15	15	146
84	69 Hub	1819462	63	2537892	73	31400000	2	0	1	1	2	141
83	Playback	5488085	27	8708080	34	5000000	22	231	25	24	32	140
85	Indie Bands Blog	6750092	18	16371379	11	5400000	18	253	27	31	56	130
86	For The Love Of Bands	3658428	39	6779783	46	5900000	16	12	7	19	18	126
87	Daft Who	7844383	13	11735145	22	3400000	35	51	10	23	29	109
88	She Bops	2966919	48	11430088	23	9400000	7	55	11	15	15	104
89	Sync.	2973576	47	9469138	31	8000000	10	39	9	12	7	104
90	Heather Fenoughty	8747667	10	13023250	18	7000000	12	106	21	26	36	97
91	Brighton Music Blog	7116571	16	13304084	16	10900000	5	84	17	22	26	80
92	New Lease Music	6027528	24	10721416	24	9600000	6	69	13	14	12	79
93	Bangs!	17725124	2	22113410	6	9100000	8	0	1	33	58	75
94	Acoustic Groove Warrior	14241519	6	13435378	15	5600000	17	94	20	18	17	75
95	The Dadada	20000000	1	30455803	3	6700000	14	89	18	26	36	72
96	The Write Reviews	12829181	7	50000000	1	11400000	4	107	22	13	10	44
97	Music Assent	11884516	8	50000000	1	8800000	9	83	16	13	10	44
98	Indie Blog Fest	8072715	11	21219180	7	8800000	9	68	12	11	4	43
99	KMM Reviews	14463845	5	20667732	8	22900000	3	0	1	12	7	24
100	Hip Hop Indie Music	16243162	4	22791263	5	41500000	1	0	1	11	4	15

 

Is there a badge I can put on my site?

Yes, we have several badges you can use to show off your site’s ranking, depending on where it ranks.

To add a badge to your site, simply copy the code in the box beneath the appropriate badge and paste it where you want it to appear on your site.

Top 10 Badge

Copy the following code and paste it into your site.

<a href="https://musicaroo.com/top-100-music-blogs/" target="_blank" title="Musicaroo Top 10"><img src="https://musicaroo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/top10-music-blogs.png" alt="Musicaroo Top 10 Music Blogs" style="border: none;" /></a>

 

Top 25 Badge

Copy the following code and paste it into your site.

<a href="https://musicaroo.com/top-100-music-blogs/" target="_blank" title="Musicaroo Top 25"><img src="https://musicaroo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/top25-music-blogs.png" alt="Musicaroo Top 25 Music Blogs" style="border: none;" /></a>

 

Top 50 Badge

Copy the following code and paste it into your site.

<a href="https://musicaroo.com/top-100-music-blogs/" target="_blank" title="Musicaroo Top 50"><img src="https://musicaroo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/top50-music-blogs.png" alt="Musicaroo Top 50 Music Blogs" style="border: none;" /></a>

 

Top 100 Badge

Copy the following code and paste it into your site.

<a href="https://musicaroo.com/top-100-music-blogs/" target="_blank" title="Musicaroo Top 100"><img src="https://musicaroo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/top100-music-blogs.png" alt="Musicaroo Top 100 Music Blogs" style="border: none;" /></a>

 

How current is this list?

These rankings were last updated in Jan, 2019. I have stopped updating it, because it is a lot of work, and I was actually getting threats from some site owners because their site was not included, or not as high on the list as they would like.

I’ve also gotten a few questions asking about my own site. I did not think it was right to include it in my own top 100 list, even though it meets all the criteria. If you’d like to check out more of Musicaroo, perhaps start with my post on learning the singing fundamentals.