Being a big fan of music I seek out sites that let me sample, experiment and just plain play around with all sorts of music. And, having an HTPC that feeds audio though my Yamaha A/V Receiver, I am very anxious to find the best music online.
You are all probably familiar with the big names such as Pandora, Last.FM, Slacker, Live 365 and a few others. Here are a few you may not have heard of, but should check out.
Grooveshark
Grooveshark has actually been around for a little while now (they launched in 2007), and I have been using it off and on for some time, but it seems to be getting traction lately. It’s an online streaming service that allows you play a song, but not download it. They do have license deals in place with some major labels such as EMI.
mSpot
mSpot is a cool new web site/software program that allows you to upload your music to their cloud and then listen anywhere on any PC, Mac, or mobile device. It works with all major web browsers, and automatically updates your collections and playlists across all devices as well. You will have to install their uploader program which will immediately begin uploading your playlists and most recently listened to music, but then will allow you to choose what is uploaded next.
MixPod
MixPod is a music service under the MySpace umbrella. Like Grooveshark, it’s a streaming only service – no downloads or uploads. You can choose songs and add them to a playlist and then save the playlist. You can have multiple playlists available anytime so that you can play whatever you’re in the mood for. Saving playlists requires you to sign up for a free account, but that’s a small price for the convenience.
Grooveshark is really useful and has a wide catalog. Also, you can use software like Stream Ripper to turn their music back into MP3 files, complete with tags in place. The bad part is that their site is written in Flash.
Plus, Grooveshark has a special. Instead of $30 a year for their premium service you can buy a T-shirt for $18 (shipped) and get a year of service thrown in. Their text ads that display in the player will actually mention the deal every 15 minutes or so.