Music and the internet

[Angus McPresley]

I listen to music at home almost exclusively through my laptop now, mostly just scanned CDs, torrents, and streaming radio, but with spring approaching I'm wanting to see if I can improve things a bit. So I thought I'd poll you all to see how you're using the internet to listen to music.

Do you use a dedicated PC as your home stereo? What software do you use to run it? Is there anything that lets you access your library from multiple locations?

How do you find new music you like on line? Any favorite stations? How about services that make recommendations based on other artists you like (Pandora doesn't work where I'm at, and last.fm recently started charging. The nerve!).

I've been enjoying grooveshark.com and playlist.com for streaming songs on demand - any similar sites you like for it?

How about sources for hard-to-find music? There are some obscure albums I would love to find but they don't seem to be out there as torrents.

Any other music-related sites you like?

 

[GodMark2]

Do you use a dedicated PC as your home stereo? What software do you use to run it? Is there anything that lets you access your library from multiple locations?

MythTV.
It's my TV tuner, Tivo, Movie collection, CD jukebox, and streaming radio player all in one box. Lets you watch/listen to anything in the collection from anywhere on your network. Really saved me from cabling hassles, but made up for all that with configuration issues, as it's Linux based.

 

[Brainster]

A friend of mine turned me onto Songza.com; similar to Pandora but without the "Here are some other bands who play similar music."

 

[empeake]

Do you use a dedicated PC as your home stereo? What software do you use to run it? Is there anything that lets you access your library from multiple locations?

I personally like J.River Media Center.

How about sources for hard-to-find music? There are some obscure albums I would love to find but they don't seem to be out there as torrents.

You might have better luck with eMule, but keep in mind the possible copyright issues.

Any other music-related sites you like?

That would depend on the type of music you like. I use allmusic for finding general info on groups, discographies, etc. However, for more obscure groups or musical genres, or if you want more detailed reviews, information and recommendations, you'll have to find specialized sites, like Prog Archives or Italian Prog for Progressive Rock; Enyclopaedia Metallum or Metal Storm if you prefer Heavy Metal; or Punkbands.com if you like Punk Rock.

 

[Peace]

http://www.spotify.com/en/

Thank me later.

 

[arthwollipot]

My house is generally full of people, so when I listen to music I do it through headphones.

Since downloads are capped, and we pay metric ****tons of money if we exceed our 5Gb/month download limit, it is all ripped CDs, with the occasional song or album bought from iTunes if I think I can afford it.

No streaming radio. There's no way I could afford it. I wouldn't trust anyone else to pick my music for me anyway. Yeah, I'm a bit of a snob like that.

 

[Bikewer]

I rather like Pandora, I used it as an all-night radio in my patrol car. The local stations I listen to during the day all sort of go on hiatus...

I have also played with the various internet radio stations like the "Live 365" search function.
There are hundreds of stations, and this thing at least catalogues and describes them.
Many are premium stations that require a subscription fee, however.
I ignored YouTube for some time till I realized there was rather a lot of good music on the thing; hard-to-find old clips from shows like David Sanborn's Night Music and varieties of recordings from live concerts.
Sometimes the audio is...Dubious, but many are quite good.

 

[dasmiller]

Do you use a dedicated PC as your home stereo?

I had a more-or-less dedicated laptop that I used to feed the stereo for a while, but finally decided that was more trouble than it was worth. I have a good set of speakers for my desktop now, and typically use it.

What software do you use to run it?

WinAmp. My music library is very well-organized.

Is there anything that lets you access your library from multiple locations?

I have a separate server PC with a wireless network, and my music collection lives there. With a laptop, I can tie into it from anywhere within range, which is quite handy.

How do you find new music you like on line?
Any favorite stations? How about services that make recommendations based on other artists you like

Pandora. But I'm open to suggestions there.

I have a large digital music collection. Most of it is ripped CDs, with some downloads (primarily Amazon).

 

[Almo]

Yeah! Pandora started working in Canada again!

I connect my Mac via mediatomb and wireless to my PS3 and play my iTunes music through the stereo, which for some tracks required the use of Requiem to remove the DRM.