… when I discover a band or singer that I’ve never heard of before but discover that I absolutely love… like “Pulp” and “Vaya Con Dios”… and then can’t find any other artist(s) that goes well with either one. (Tried the Amazon ‘people who bought…’ - no luck.)
Well, Pulp and Space kind of go. Swing out Sister kinda goes with Vaya Con Dios. But I already knew those. I want more!
Check the All Music Guide ( http://www.allmusic.com ) for more recommendations. They always have lists of “If you like A, you’ll also like B, C, and D.” Amazon.com has those features too: “People who bought W also bought X, Y, and Z.” Plus on Amazon, people are always making lists of recommendations, so you can check for people with similar tastes.
As a huge fan of Pulp, I’ll recommend Franz Ferdinand, if you haven’t heard anything by them. That same sort of loungy rock, although Franz is a little spikier. Orange Juice is an older band (early '80s) and are tweer than Pulp, but they’re worth a shot.
I’ll second Big Bad Voodoo Lou’s recommendation of All Music. That link goes to the front page for Pulp, which lists Similar Artists, Influences and Followers.
Christ, I hadn’t thought about Space in ages! I had to look up to see who they were.
MusicPlasma is a very cool way to explore music that may be similar to what you like.