Sometimes I discover new good authors. It doesn't happen often. I discovered only one this week. When does this happen? Usually when I go outside of my inner circle, outside of my follow feed.
The first source of interesting authors is the process of creating my magazine. During the selection of posts, I open every (!) post that is published in WOX. Sometimes, but not often, there are new interesting finds.
The second source is the work of a curator. On days when I curate content, I read more than 50 posts. It's tiring at times, and usually consumes my entire day, and I'm always hesitating whether I should continue. But on such days, I may come across new (for me) authors that I support with pleasure.
I should've mentioned your Blogosphere magazine - I know that it's a popular source for people who want to quickly find good content.
I remember the feeling well. Even with the advantage of various tools for filtering content for what I was looking for.
The feeling is mutual!