Last.fm

Once in a while you stumble upon a website that just nails it. Websites like Flickr.com, LinkedIn.com and Wikipedia.org. Websites that found a problem or a need and set out to fix or fill it. And became very successful in doing so.

Such a website is Last.fm.

Their idea is simple; you download a plug-in for your audio player (yes, they have one for your player as well) and it then logs everything you play and creates a profile of your musical preferences. Then it compares your listening habits with all the other users of Last.fm and recommends music that your musical neighbours are listening to but you are not.

But, wait there is more. Much more. You can download an open source player (available for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and FreeBSD) and then stream music that fits your profile. This is like all ad-free radio should be. There are no ads, not even a person saying between tracks that ?This is Radio XXX, ad-free radio?. Nothing but music, and all kinds of music.

I cannot recommend Last.fm highly enough; they just do everything right. And best of all; it is free!