Last.Fm: Music Lover Heaven

Are you sick of all the terrible music out there? Don't you wish you could spread the love you have for your favorite bands and pick up a few new ones along the way? Never fear, Last.fm is here, one of the coolest music sharing websites out there.

Last.fm is heaven for music lovers. It allows you to create a profile and share your favorite bands and songs with people by sharing your current play list. You can also give and receive recommendations on music from other members, as well as be updated on the latest concert information in your area.

First, you build a profile, which consists of the standard questions. Adding a photo is an option as well. Next, you download their software which takes up very little space in your computer. You can download and install it in about 5 minutes. What the software does is "scrobble" your music. What the heck does that mean?

When you listen to your music player (and its compatible with many, such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, etc), it takes your recent played tracks and sends the info to their server. Your recently played tracks pop up on your profile for all to see. The website will make recommendations of other bands and songs based on what you listen to from the most popular to the most obscure, for those of you who love the underground scene more than Top 40.

Don't want that one Backstreet Boys song to be shown on your list? It's ok, you have to listen to at least half the song for it be counted as a listen and then scrobbled. So if you skip it really quick, no one needs to know about your boy band obsession.

You can also put your recently played track list on forums, journals and other websites. You pick a background pattern and how many songs you want to be displayed. The html is automatically generated for you to cut and paste anywhere, so you can share your tastes with everyone.