Back at the turn of the century, Internet radio was a novelty — and little more. Stations largely mimicked the radio that most of us knew from car stereos, doing little to distinguish themselves as products of the information age.
But a lot has changed in recent years. Today, the best Internet radio stations incorporate all that the web has to offer — including customization and collaboration — with a seemingly unlimited palette of music and information.
The result: a product that just might have you turning to the Internet first for your radio listening pleasure — and tapping your feet a lot in the process. Here’s an overview of some of the most innovative and popular radio sites around.
Pandora.com
Legend has it that Pandora’s box is full of surprises, and that’s what Internet radio station Pandora.com (http://www.pandora.com) gives you. The surprises, though, are largely pleasant.
Billing itself as the radio station that plays “only music you like,” Pandora is big on customization. Once you create a free account, Pandora prompts you to create a new radio station based upon an artist or song that you enjoy.
Once created, the station begins playing, typically with the song or artist around which the station was defined. Subsequent musical selections, however, are taken from artists or songs that are likely to be appealing to those who enjoy the artist or song that you originally created the station around.
Create a station called “the Beatles,” for instance, and Pandora plays songs not only from the Fab Four but also from bands such as Credence Clearwater Revival, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and other artists that typically appeal to Beatles fans.
You can tell Pandora whether you like a particular selection by clicking an up or down thumb as the song plays. An options menu allows you to include or exclude…