Without an MP3

MP3 players are great. There are a few things I don't like about them though. They have to use some form of battery. That's not too much of a hassle, but it's still something I have to think about. I also have to put all my music on the player, which means I have to get all of my music onto my hard drive. (At least anything from several years back when CDs were still considered viable). Again, these are small complaints, but it's this last thing that has really made me start using something different: I never get to here new music if I'm always listening to my MP3 player.

Obviously, listening to the radio is not an option. It just isn't. So while at work, I use Pandora. The way it basically works is that you tell it an artist or song that you like. From there it will create a "station" based on that selection. Let's say you create an Iron and Wine station. Whenever you are listening to your Iron and Wine station, it will play songs by them or other songs by artists who are within the same "musical genome." Trust me. You will stumble upon other artist you like that you may have otherwise never found. Also, you can tell Pandora that you do or don't like a song. Before long you train it to your tastes. There are other features, but I'll just let you play around with it and figure them out.

You do have to sign up, but it is free. They don't put you on some stupid spam list. They only send you periodic emails about updates (once a month maybe?). I've been using Pandora for over a year and have had no problems/found any strings attached.

Give it a try.



(No. I am not affiliated with or being compensated in any way by Pandora. . .)