Being a tech worker, I am at my desk a large portion of the day. In order to retain some peace of mind, I listen to a lot of music during these times. Quite a bit of music – hours and hours more than I can count. To get that music to my speakers with minimal effort or wasted time, I frequently use several music services.
Grooveshark
Grooveshark is a website with what I consider one of the best examples of flash interface design. Grooveshark is easy to use and search, and find what you want.
Link: grooveshark.com
Pros:
- Easy to use and navigation
- Looks great, and you can change your themes
- Good selection of content
Cons:
- “Radio” function is not great
- Manual playlists are more or less necessary
- Quality and seamlessness of playback are not constant
Playlist
Playlist.com became popular by allowing users to embed a playlist on any website, including their MySpace profiles. It’s functionality is limited, in that it has no radio feature, but it is still useful
Link: playlist.com
Pros:
- Simple. Search and play or add to a list.
- Good integration with social networking
Cons:
- No radio function. Requires manual playlists
- Quality and seamlessness of playback are not constant
- Content selection is mostly user-provided – links can break
Pandora
Pandora is the “biggest and baddest” online radio service. It is the most controlled, but provides the most “professional” experience, in my opinion.
Link: pandora.com
Pros:
- Fantastic radio feature. Uses complex algorithms to play music that you will like.
- Wide selection – Create a radio station based on any band or song
Cons:
- Extremely limited – You may only skip a few songs an hour
- No play-on-demand. You can only listen to radio stations
- 40 hour per month limit – You have to pay for the premium service for unlimited listing.
Conclusion
I prefer Pandora. As someone who works long days, I can’t spend time making playlists and switching songs every minute. Grooveshark has potential, but it needs to improve the radio functionality substantially before it can replace Pandora.
