From YouTube to Spotify to Pandora and Last.FM, you think you have seen them all? Well here is a list of ten websites that might just give you a new perspective.
1. 22 Tracks
A simple layout and an easy to load page that pulls up 22 tracks from the selected Genre and City. Shuffling through tracks is fun and entertaining with changing background colours. You can share add the tracks to your favourite, download them for 7 days or purchase on iTunes. Downside: Has a limited option of cities to choose from- Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris.
Indie Shuffle has a good collection of indie tracks. The artist info provided is very good. You can play the track and ‘favourite’ it to display in your Facebook feed. The tracks can be easily shared via Facebook and Twitter and it has a mobile app that you can use on the go.
Downside: Only five genres to choose from.
3. Daytrotter
A home to both new and established bands, Daytrotter records live music sessions. You can watch entire concerts or shop for memorabilia here.
Downside: If you are not used to paying for music a $2 monthly fee might discourage you.
Share 1 song at a time, follow others and browse their playlists on Spotify. Even though it relies on YouTube, has a good collection of music. You can discover new songs easily here.Downside: Needs more users.
5. Whyd
From Paris with love for music. This Pinterest like site for music lovers is one of my favourites. Similar in look and feel to This Is My Jam, but better with more options to add tracks, like tracks and track the tracks as they go up and down in popularity and also lets you play popular tracks from the ‘Hot Tracks’ list. Entry is by invite and usually you can get the invite within a day after registering with your e-mail.
Downside: Needs more options to add tracks than YouTube and Soundcloud, or does it?
6. Hype Machine
This website picks up popular tracks from Blogs and has its own radio shows, album premiers and blogs. It has some interesting selection of genres, especially one called ‘Singer-Songwriter’. At present it contains music from as many as 15 countries, which is better than most other music sites. The best feature is ‘Lab’ which lets you automatically fast forward through music to pick your new favourites.
Downside: None. But including more countries would be a welcome addition.
7. NPR Music
Read about this on some blog and had to try it out. It has a radio style music player and the feel of an online music magazine. Limited genre list but really interesting articles to read. Also the 'Tiny Desk’ concerts that you can watch for free are very entertaining.Downside: Even though it has a World music genre, it doesn’t have any Indian music collections, Bollywood or Indi-Pop.
8. Stereomood
A novel idea that lets you tag and play music according to your mood. You can listen to something that suits your mood or change tracks to change your mood. Also has a Mood O’Clock app that works as an alarm to wake you with a song of your particular mood.
Downside: Needs more users to tag and share music.
9. Unhearit
How often is that you get some song stuck in your head? This site let’s you get rid of that clingy tune and replaces it with a new one. I use it to discover good tracks more than to un-hear it.Downside: Website is very simple and looks like an app. Could do with a blog or a genre list.
10. Live365
Not a new music website, but one of my all time favourites. Has the widest list of genres to choose from and an excellent collection of music from around the world, even better than Spotify or Soundcloud. The online radio shows are hosted by users from around the globe and you can listen to your favourites anytime you want. Also provides you with a set of tools to start your own online radio show.
Downside: Ads can be annoying between streams if you are not a paid VIP.
Well, that’s all for now folks! Follow us on Twitter to talk about your favorite music sites.
Shubhit S., Epik Music Videos
07/02/2013
Read also: 10 Websites to Watch Concerts Online