I believe couchsurfing is the best way to get to know a place, not only because it helps you saving some money to be able to visit more places, but also because you have the opportunity to meet locals, which normally know the best things about the city they live in. Additionally, if you wanna know a city you need to know its people, its history and its culture, so you can't just stay in a hotel room or walking in tourism tours.

Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and minimal house music in general.