Why not take a break from listening to your over-played collection of CDs and go online to find something new? You’ll be amazed at what’s available, and it’s all free. Whether you’re into the latest hits or classic rock, alternative or jazz, there’s a site out there streaming music just for you.
Listening to music online couldn’t be easier – you just find a music or radio station (site) you want to listen to, and then press Play. All you need is a computer with speakers, or you can use headphones, and an Internet connection. Some sites use their own media player and others will ask you to select the one you have on your computer, such as Windows Media Player or Real Player (both free and readily available to download if you don’t already have them installed).
Just be aware though, streaming music can gobble up your bandwidth, so if you’re on a limited download plan, and make sure that you keep an eye on those usage statistics.
Yahoo! Music lets you create your own personalised radio station based on your taste in music. You need a Yahoo! Id to sign in, and then you pick music from a list of artists and genres. You can rate the music you hear so you’ll get more of the songs you like, and less of those you don’t. Alternatively, you can listen to one of the many pre-programmed stations or check out the music videos. Note: Yahoo! Music does not work in Firefox.
CNET Music
The CNET music site is a place where artists can upload their music and you get to listen to it for free. In some cases, you can even download a copy to keep. You can choose music from various regions of the world or you can select music by genre. When you pick an artist to listen to, you’ll find a playlist, a short biography of the artist and a link to their Web site, if they have one.
Moshcam
This site not only brings you music, but you can watch the video, too. As the name suggests, live music is captured at venues and put up on the site for all to enjoy. If you love the music scene, but can’t always get to gigs, this is a fantastic alternative. It’s free to join the site, and when you do so, you can create your own playlists of your favourite gigs.
SHOUTcast Radio
From this one site, you can listen to thousands of free Internet radio stations from around the world. Just select your favourite style of music from a long list of genres such as alternative, classical or pop/rock, and you’ll be presented with a list of radio stations to choose from. From there, it’s a simple task to select one and start listening.
LastFM
This is a massive music site where you can listen to music by your favourite artists, discover music by similar artists, and watch music videos and a whole lot more. You have to join the site to listen (it’s free), but this allows you to create a profile, build and manage your music library, view your top artists and tracks, create playlists and more.
Take40
If you miss the Take40 countdown on the radio, you can listen to it on this site – either the complete show or just the tracks you want to hear. There are also lots of other playlists to choose from including Take40’s selection of pop, dance and rock, plus you can listen to the number one hits of every year, right back to 1984, or visit the live lounge for video of live performances.
The Hot Hits
The Hot Hits show hosted by Kyle and Jackie O plays the top 40 tracks of the week, as voted for by listeners of the show. On The Hot Hits site, you can listen to the show in full, or choose selected tracks, plus you can listen to the hottest new music and a selection of playlists.
ABC Radio
Several of the ABC’s music radio stations stream live on its Web site. These include ABC Classic FM, triple j and dig – the ABC’s Internet radio station. Dig’s main channel plays a continuous mix of popular genres, while it also has a separate station for jazz and one for country music.
Grooveshark
Grooveshark allows you to listen to millions of songs online for free. You just type in an artist name, song title or genre to get started. When you’ve found what you want, click on play and then carry on adding music to your queue. I found most of the music and artists I searched for, so give it a try.
Digital Radio
This site tells you all about digital radio, which will be launching in Australia in May 2009. In the meantime, you can listen to the radio stations online. Just go to the Listen Live section, type in a postcode and select a station to listen to. This launches the media player, and from there you can select radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Jango
Jango lets you create your own radio stations and it’s so easy to use. Just type in the name of an artist and click play. Music by that artist will start playing and from there you can add more. If you want to save your radio station, you need to join the site, and it’s free to do so.
1Radio
The 1Radio site is just so easy to use. It provides you with links to all the radio stations in major cities around Australia. To start listening just select a city, then a radio station and sit back and enjoy.
Juke Box Alive
This is a great site for discovering new music. Emerging artists upload their music to the site for everyone to listen to. There is a range of genres to choose from, including rock, jazz, reggae, pop and world music. You can search for music by style, instrument or anything else that describes the sort of music you like. You can also listen to other artists and watch some music videos.
Wikipedia:Sound/list
On this Wikipedia site, you’ll find an extensive list of public domain (non-copyright) classical and choral music, which you can listen to just by pressing the play button. You can sort the list by composer, title, performer or genre, and you’ll find Wikipedia entries about the composers and their works by following links in the list.
The Radio
The Internet radio site offers you an extensive array of channels to choose from. If you like all golden oldies, you’ll find country, rock and soul from the 50s to present day. But if bluegrass, blues, Motown or Nashville is more to your taste, you’ll find that, too. Just pick a channel to listen to, or type in an artist to get started. The site keeps track of what you’ve played, so if you want to hear something again, it’s easy to do so.
Musopen
Musopen continually streams classical music. The music starts playing as soon as you enter the site – a small player appears with scrolling text showing what music is playing. If you don’t want to listen to it, press the forward button on the player for the next selection. Each piece of music is accompanied by information on the composer and the work. Follow the link for the composer and you will find other music by them, which you can also play.
Deezer
Deezer is another really easy music site to use – type in an artist or song title and you’re off. The site has some nice features, such as Smart Radio, which automatically generates a program for you based on an artist you select. If you join the site, you can upload your own MP3s so they’re available anytime, anywhere, and try out the Blind Test games, where you must guess the artist.
