LastFM is an internet service that tracks what you listen to and creates a “station” based on it. It’s great, I love it. My personal station is amazing of course but just as valuable is the station from LastFM that recommends things for me based on my personal station. I’ve heard some interesting stuff that way. I can also tune into my friends’ stations too, and that’s a blast. LastFM is one of my most frequently listened to stations on my Squeezebox, and I “Scrobble” (send lists of music I listen to to LastFM so they can adjust my stations) from my iTunes library on my computer and from my iPod.
They have just gone to a subscription plan for folks using streaming devices (like a Squeeebox) and mobile devices. It’s all of 3 bucks a month. So did I pay up? Damn right I did, $36 a year is well worth it to me. Honestly, between LastFM and Slacker, I really wouldn’t be broken hearted if my music collection disappeared. I might have to add a classical service too, that’s about all that’s missing now. I hope that my subscriptions will really pay off once I get my iPhone, streaming that in the car will be a major coup…
If nothing else, the internet has been an incredible boon to my music enjoyment. It keeps getting better and better and I constantly get exposed to new stuff along the way. LastFM is still free if you want to listen on your computer, check it out!