Another year, another 100 bands hand-picked by the AbsolutePunk staff for you to check out. Seeking out and discovering new music is one of my favorite things to do – not only as a writer but also as a passionate fan of the art form. Last year we introduced to you some bands that are tearing up 2013 thus far (Pity Sex, Chelsea Wolfe, and Pentimento for example) and we are poised to do the same in 2013. It’s kind of like having a jumbo book of Where’s Waldo?, only in this case our list is the book and Waldo is your new favorite band. We don’t buy into buzz, hype, or whatever – this is a list of one hundred musical acts that we as a staff truly love and support. Enjoy this year’s list (revealed in four parts over four weeks) and let us know which ones are your new favorites.

The Absolute 100 is an annual collection of our favorite lesser-known bands. Our point with this feature (as it was in 2007 and 2008) is that there’s still hope. The future of music can be bright, you just gotta find the right blurbs to screw in. Some of the bands on this list are signed and some are already on their way to selling out tours. Some are barely even on their parents’ radars. Throw cred out the window; we don’t care if you’ve heard any of these acts before. We want EVERYONE in on these secrets.

We are an unique crew of diligent AP.net workers – not all our playlists are carbon copies. Our goal, as it always has been, is to deliver a constant stream of information about music that motivates and inspires. Consider this a promise: there is at least one band on this list that you will enjoy. And if you don’t, then let’s hope it’s because you already love one of them enough. – Julia Conny

News posts and song streams. RSS feeds and webisodes. We swim in a digital ocean of recommendations – the music and us. Here at AbsolutePunk.net, we like to start the waves and then float in them. This is why we are back with our second installment of The Absolute 100, an annual collection of our favorite lesser known bands. Below you will find a centennial of really great acts. Some of them may be fresh to the ears, and some of them may be old news to your keen web browsing. Either way, we hope that from all the bands that clutter these interwebbed harbors, you’ll find a precious handful from these Absolute 100. – Julia Conny

From your warm barstool, you watch a new band take the stage. You’ve never seen them before but their opening chords ring in clear and true and damn good. An instant connection between the ear and the instinct, this will be the band in which you rave testimonies. Here at ABSOLUTEPUNK.net, we like to provide you with that same tummy-filling. After we report the news and churn out the reviews, interviews and exclusives, we are here to serve you up with more music to obsess over. That being said, here are 100 blazing up and comers that we, the staff of AP.net, are losing sleep over. Caught between a rock and the big time, these 100 are aimed for a 2007 killing in potential alone. We toast our glasses to them, and to you, hopefully, for giving them a chance. – Julia Conny