10 Best Streaming Music Sites

The Internet is vast, so how do you find the best new music you haven’t heard of before? How can you find the next Daft Punk (pictured)? The following sites are our picks for the best places to find and listen to music on the net (in no particular order).

Grooveshark.com

Find, and listen to, any song you want for free. Essentially, Gooveshark is an online music jukebox. Great for parties when no one brought their iPod and great to use at work when the person sitting next to you started humming that annoying song and now you can’t get it out of your head. VIP users pay $3 a month (or $30 a year) for some neat perks, but the free version serves its purpose pretty well.

Pandora.com

Anyone who has spent time on the Internet knows about Pandora, an online music service that lets you create your own stations with limited commercial interruption. Part of the “Music Genome Project,” Pandora allows you to create a station based off of a particular group or type of music. Fun if you’re looking to find artists similar to the ones you already enjoy.

Emusic.com

Everyone knows about iTunes, you might not know about eMusic. Considered one of the “bad boys” of the online music industry, eMusic got its start in 1998 selling digital music online that was free of digital rights management (DRM). This kept the big music companies from putting their stuff on the site.. until now. The site is subscription based but there are many benefits.

The Live Music Archive

If you have a soft spot for your dad’s music tastes The Live Music Archive offers an incredible opportunity. Thousands of live shows are archived for your listening pleasure dating all the way back to the 60’s. Newer artists include Jack Johnson, Deathcab for Cutie, and My Morning Jacket. The site is free and maintained by a nonprofit organization.

Fluxblog.org

Founded in 2002 by music enthusiast Matthew Perpetua, the fluxblog posts a new song daily from various artists breaking into the scene. While scrolling through the posts there wasn’t a single band I had ever heard of, but all of them sounded excellent.

Smithsonian Global Sound

If world music is your thing than the Smithsonian Global Sound network is for you. Tracks from bands from around the world are offered at the government funded site where you can purchase songs and albums.

Rhapsody.com

In the same vein of eMusic and iTunes, Rhapsody is a huge music database. For $9.99 users can download as many songs as they like. However, the music cannot be put onto an ipod and should you stop paying the subscription, magically, the music will disappear from your harddrive.

Stereogum.com

Another popular blog started in 2002 that brings you the latest from indie alternative music artists from all over. Unlike other blogs the tracks that stereogum has to offer can be downloaded, legally, for free.

Mixunit.com

The best thing about Mixunit.com is its offering of “official” mixtapes where rappers you’ve actually heard of sample their new rhymes. The section might be hard to find thanks to all the merchandise promotion, but once you get there it’s worth it.

Turntablelab.com

Want to be the next Deadmau5? How about the next Daft Punk? You got to start somewhere kid, and Turntablelab is where you’ll find your inspiration. Established in 1998 by 3 fans of the genre, Turntablelab provides not just an mp3 store where you can buy and discover new artists, but also is a retailer for DJ equipment of all shapes and kinds. Their mp3 store is a sight to be heard as they find mixes from everywhere and anywhere.