You're interested in J-music, but where should you start?

Probably the best places to start are the record labels. Most labels offer samples of singles, and some even go further and allow you to sample full songs through streaming broadcasts. For people with broadband connections, I would recommend avexnet TV. Not only do you get to sample the newest releases, you get to watch the full promotional videos as well. While Avex is a little light on the rock side, it does cover other genres very well.

As a newbie to music, it would be best to stick with "channel 2" which is the Japanese PV channel. "Channel 1" is more similar to a normal TV channel with a few programs and only commercials for the artists. "Channel 2" is for foreign (to Japan) artists. If you would rather not watch the PV's or don't have the ability to, then avexnet radio is the best thing for you. In order to listen to the radio, click on one of the three links near the bottom of the page, OCN, DreamNet, or excite. After that, click on the "listen now" button.

Other labels that have similar channels are Sony (click on VideoClip 24) and Toshiba Emi (click on the TOEMI channel links).

Aside from record labels, of course fan sites are a great places to get resources. I don't want to show any favoritism or possibly jeopardize media sites by directly referring them, so contact me if you would like specific information on different places. I personally frequent as much as I can including websites, forums, newsgroups, and IRC. It may seem like it's hard to find stuff at first, but once you start at one place, the others seem to follow. I personally think forums are the way to go. Not only can you discuss the music that you're interested in, you can develop connections with the other users and find even more places to go.

Now that you know what you like, where can you buy it?

The place I recommend the most is CD Japan. Because they're located in Japan, they ship out the orders a lot quicker than other places, and you don't have to pay any hidden fees that American companies work into their prices (shipping from Japan to their store, for example). However, CD Japan does have its disadvantages. You get the most out of your money when you make large orders, and they only take credit cards or postal money orders.

Another popular place is Yesasia based in California. Their prices are probably the best you'll get from an American store as long as you're only buying digital media. Any books, magazines, or calendars are marked up to at least double the yen price before shipping. Aside from that, they also carry overseas versions of CD's (not to be confused with bootlegs). These CD's are around three-fourths of the original Japanese price. Unfortunately, only artists on the bigger labels get overseas versions, and even then, there's no guarantee that Yesasia will carry it. In the past customers have had mixed experiences, but many people are very happy with Yesasia at the present.

If you wanted printed media, I recommend Fujisan. They sell their items at the yen price (not including shipping), and offer subscriptions for magazines. Also, as long as a book is in print, they will try to get it in if you provide an ISBN. You can even preorder books. They also carry digital media, but I have never ordered any so I can't comment on that.