Monday, January 05, 2009

Free Music on the Internet; Create Your Own Playlists

I've opened Pandora's box on my home computer and laptop. An extensive catalog of free music is available for dinner parties, yoga classes and personal happy hours at my home thanks to recommendation from my friend, Leah.

Free music is available at Pandora, an Internet radio station. Unlike traditional radio stations, Pandora puts together a playlist based on your tastes. For instance, fans of songstress Anita Baker can select a favorite tune from Rapture, Baker's top-selling R&B recording. With that input, Pandora will play Sweet Love -- one of Baker's signature tunes -- and after that will provide an endless loop of music that echoes Baker's sound as performed by a variety of artists. The catalog includes classical, hip-hop, new age and other categories.


My teenage son has introduced me to Imeem.com, another free music website. At Imeem, you can develop a playlist based on a favorite performer, song or composer. You can also sample playlists created by other listeners, including recordings of dance music, alternative rock, jazz or ''old school'' dance tunes. Based on your musical selections, Imeem will suggest a sound-alike menu of music.


Frugal For Life, a top-rated thrifty living blog, has created a great list of free music and audio sites. Here are a few favorites:

Yahoo music: http://new.music.yahoo.com/. After registering, create your own playlist of music and videos. Additionally, Yahoo offers a station guide for Internet-based radio outlets in different categories. The site also offers links to music blogs, concerts and news.
Live 365:http://www.live365.com/ This site provides links to broadcasts that offer category-specific music, such as movie soundtracks, jazz and oldies. The music guide includes thousands of stations. The service is free, but for a fee you can sign up for a VIP membership that offers links with CD-quality sound.
Last.FM:http://www.last.fm/. This site offers a wide selection of music and makes playlist suggestions based on your prior selections. The site also has concert information, news and station spotlights

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for these sites! I also like satisfying my good tastes with a small budget. My favorite "victory" is finding a good wine for a reasonable price.

Anonymous said...

I personally like finetune.com. It helps me discover new artists within the same genre of my favorite singers e.g. check out the Josh Groban or David Cook channels. =)

Anonymous said...

somafm.com

by far one of the best FREE internet radio for those of us looking for a unique playlist

Anonymous said...

Good one, Sharon! I had heard of Pandora, but not the others. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I usually use pandora although don't like how if you skip too many you can't skip anymore.