Late last year the creators of The Quietus decided to design a website catering for the intelligent music fan between the ages of 21 and 73. The site, which comprises quality music criticism of the kind you'd find in broadsheet supplements, including reviews and features, has been growing ever since. They are now planning to work with live promoters, festivals, radio stations and book publishers.

www.thequietus.com

MBV

"Sickened by bad design and flashy ads on blogs full of cynical postings made for diverting Google traffic, some of the top music bloggers formed a coalition to create a superblog," says Sean Adams, editor of drowned-insound.com. "An abundance of clean white space ensures everything focuses in on the recommendations of the very best (new) music, as well as pointing readers toward some of the finest writing on the web. It's refreshingly digestible and manages to create an authoritative, human voice."

www.mbvmusic.com

Better than the van

Better Than the Van is an essential option for penniless gigging bands looking for a place to crash. The site has built up a community of music fans offering their homes to bands on the road, and it puts touring musicians in touch with their fans. Musicians who offer others a base for the night can also publicise their own music by posting their MySpace/ website/Facebook address.

www.betterthanthevan.com

Balcony TV

A homegrown success story, Balcony TV revolves around getting local and visiting acts to give us a tune on the balcony of its founder's apartment in Dublin's Dame Street. It was set up in 2006 by filmmaker Stephen O'Regan and musicians Tom Millett and Pauline Freeman. The venture has since expanded to take in balconies in London, Hamburg and Poznan, Poland. Voted Best Music Website at the Irish Digital Media Awards in 2007, Balcony TV has interviews, blogs, reviews and an archive of video clips of everyone from The Blizzards to Declan O'Rourke.

www.balconyTV.com

Spotify

There are plenty of sites allowing you to stream music, but none so user-friendly as Spotify. New songs are added all the time: the Sweden-based site now holds more than five million tracks on their catalogue, and are adding roughly 10,000 tracks a day, which the listener can stream for free. If you are not already subscribed to Spotify, you're missing a treat. Furthermore, you can build your own playlists and send them on to friends.

www.spotify.com

Pitchfork

"Every year hundreds of music sites start-up, trying to find new and innovative ways to discover music online," says Ian Hogarth of Songkick. "Some of those sites blow up, only to fade away a couple of years later. I think Pitchfork is probably the only example of a true online music institution. Founded 14 years ago in 1995, before Napster, before Google, before Facebook, Pitchfork was there for us, providing a voice with integrity. If you've not found it yet, you should do."

www.pitchfork.com

Daytrotter

For free access to specially recorded sessions, Daytrotter is your first port of call. Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird and Bonnie Prince Billy have all recorded sessions for the site. "We are not giving you songs from someone you love's record album, thereby stealing from someone you love," the site states. "We're giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favourite bands."

www.daytrotter.com

Rock's back Pages

John Doran, editor of thequietus.com, recommends Rock's Back Pages: "It's an archive of classic interviews and profiles covering the 60s to the modern day with beer, sweat, blood and tear-stained missives from Julie Burchill, Jon Savage, Lester Bangs and others. If I'm researching a big-name feature, RBP is the first place I turn to."

www.rocksbackpages.com

popjustice

There are lots of sites dedicated to alternative and indie music, but less catering for the mainstream pop scene. Popjustice is one that sets its sights firmly on the charts. It's funny and opinionated, with a daily pop briefing, song of the day and interviews with top pop stars.

www.popjustice.com

Gorilla vs bear

Once called "The New Yorker of hipster blogs", and hailed as "influential" by Newsweek, the Texas-based Gorilla vs Bear blogs about the most relevant artists of the moment with no particular genre-specific focus. It's good for news on cutting-edge and left-field indie, folk and rock acts, to pick up some worthwhile free MP3s, and for decent commentary.

www.gorillavsbear.blogspot.com

- Elisa Bray

Irish Independent