There’s a cool music player I found because of Facebook. It’s called Pandora and it’s just what I need for work. First of all, it’s FREE. You can create Stations based on a song or an artist and Pandora will play songs similar to what you chose. You can customize the station by adding additional songs or artists and it will base its selections for you on the cumulative effect of the listings in your station.

What’s really cool is that Pandora is based on the Music Genome Project, which is described as follows:

Each song in the Music Genome Project is analyzed using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics by a trained music analyst. These attributes capture not only the musical identity of a song, but also the many significant qualities that are relevant to understanding the musical preferences of listeners. The typical music analyst working on the Music Genome Project has a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, has passed through a selective screening process and has completed intensive training in the Music Genome’s rigorous and precise methodology. To qualify for the work, analysts must have a firm grounding in music theory, including familiarity with a wide range of styles and sounds. All analysis is done on location.

The Music Genome Project’s database is built using a methodology that includes the use of precisely defined terminology, a consistent frame of reference, redundant analysis, and ongoing quality control to ensure that data integrity remains reliably high. Pandora does not use machine-listening or other forms of automated data extraction.

The Music Genome Project is updated on a continual basis with the latest releases, emerging artists, and an ever-deepening collection of catalogue titles.

By utilizing the wealth of musicological information stored in the Music Genome Project, Pandora recognizes and responds to each individual’s tastes. The result is a much more personalized radio experience - stations that play music you’ll love - and nothing else.

So based on all these characteristics, I find that when I’m in a particular mood, I can pick a song or artist and Pandora will play music that’s so similar that even songs or artists I’ve never heard before still fit and are enjoyable. It’s a GREAT way to discover new music based on your own tastes. They don’t have classical music on Pandora yet, but they say they’re working on it. When THAT happens, I’ll truly be a Pandora Geek! :-)

(When I want to specifically listen to music that I already have on my computer or on CD, I still use iTunes, but between the two, I’m covered.)

You can also use Pandora to share customized stations with friends and find other people with similar listening interests. Pandora also interfaces with Facebook, so you can interact with other people (or with Pandora) right from Facebook. What I also like is that you can customize your profile, bookmark songs and artists so that you can get to them easily, and create all kinds of custom stations from your profile page. And it’s all free! How cool is THAT?

If you listen to music on your computer at all, you really need to give Pandora a try. Just visit http://www.pandora.com/, create a free account with an email address and password, then click “Create a New Station” and enter a song or artist you’d like to hear. You won’t always get exactly what you put in, but you will get music that’s similar and should fit your mood or tastes. And since Pandora allows you to rate (thumbs up or down) songs you hear, you can continually tailor your listening experience. Oh, and they even allow you to pause and continue a song, which many streaming music players don’t do.  So there you go. Check it out!