The Top Places To Listen to and Find New Music Online

The internet is a musician's and music lover's playground. Looking for sheet music or guitar tabs for pop songs? Just type in the right keywords and it's there for printing. Want to find an mp3 of something you heard on the radio? It's there, on three or four different websites to listen to, download, or purchase.

What if you don't know what you're looking for, though? Or you're bored, and want some new tunes?

MySpace was originally created as a community for musicians to showcase and share their tunes, video, and tour dates. There is an easy way to add music clips to your own MySpace page, search for musicians by genre, and browse video/audio clips. There are also fan groups to join.

Imeem is a music-hosting website where users can upload their own music and listen to music others have uploaded. It is all free, and you can create your own playlists to post on other websites or listen to in the background while you surf the net. You can also browse others' playlists. If you find something you like, click on a quick link to add it to your list.

Yahoo's LaunchCast Radio is my personal favorite. It launches as an option in your Messenger window, or as a stand-alone player. You can listen to fixed radio stations from a variety of genres, or create your own radio station by rating songs. The best thing about your own station is that it randomly adds new music based on your ratings, so you always get a mix of favorites and new music. You can also link to friends' radio stations to put their favorites in your mix.

Whichever route you try out, you will be pleasantly surprised by the sound quality and mix of good music on the net. Happy listening!