Pandora has cemented itself as a music streaming powerhouse in the world. It's convenient, it's got a huge selection, it's easy to use and most importantly it's free99. But we've all experienced that point when your favorite Pandora station stops being innovative and starts repeating the same songs over and over. and over. and over.
AND OVER.
Some people thrive on repetition and I am
NOT one of them. Which is why I had to add some variety to my music streaming services:
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You may recognize the name Grooveshark because it's what we use to share songs and playlists on this blog. (One of the reasons it's awesome. You can make a playlist/"mixtape" and share it with all of your friends)
Grooveshark is like the lovechild of Pandora and Facebook; it combines music and social networking. I love it because it gives you control that Pandora doesn't. You can search their huge database for ANY song you want to hear and play it on demand. I think it's like Spotify in that sense, except better because it's free. It's perfect for those times when you just want to hear THAT ONE song without waiting for it to pop up on your station. Of course Grooveshark also has the nifty feature of creating a channel based on past songs you've listened to.
Pros:
- Free (with the option to pay for more features)
- Unlimited skipping songs you don't want to hear
- Able to listen to any song you want just by searching for it
- Huge selection of songs (seriously, they have everything)
- Ability to make and share playlists with anyone you want to
- You can navigate the site without stopping your playlist
- Excellent labeling of songs and ability to see everything you've listened to in a session (in case you want to find the name of a song you really liked)
Cons:
- Ads? But nowhere near as obnoxious as Pandora's
- Sometimes there are tons of versions of a song in their collection, including 30 second samples, so you have to make sure you pick the right one
- Takes more effort to set up a radio station than other streaming services
