Rhapsody
Rhapsody is a music service, with a monthly fee. Their unlimited subscription plan is $10 a month, and grants you unlimited access to all of their music.
Granted, you can't put the music on your portable device with this plan, but you can log in at *ANY* computer with a web browser and internet connection, and get full access to all of the music. Play any song as many times as you want.
They also have "radio stations" available. These aren't your traditional radio station however. These radio stations are more akin to enormous playlists. You click play, and it will randomly select a song programmed by Rhapsody for that genre/station.
It also has a bit of a “smart random” so you won’t hear the same song again for a set period of time, and also won’t hear from the same artist more than so many times in a set period of time (numbers that I once found on Rhapsody.com but no longer know where they are).
You also have the ability to skip songs you don’t like, or simply don’t feel like listening to. This can be dangerous however, not only is there a limit of somewhere around 20-something skips in a somewhere around 30mins, you will also try to skip songs on your FM radio in your car.
The radio is a nice way to discover new songs as well. Also, not all songs played on the radio will be available for you to play “on demand”.
You can also download the tracks to your computer, but they are in .wma format and use DRM technology (which can be more than a hassle).
If you want just a little bit more, you can get the “To Go” service for $15 a month, which allows you to transfer unlimited amounts of music to your portable music device at no extra charge. Sadly, iPod is not supported by Rhapsody as of now, and you’ll have to buy the tracks to put them on your iPod.
Let’s compare this to iTunes. Assuming you get the $15 plan… that’s about 15 iTunes songs in a month. How many do you buy in a month? Probably more than 15, that’s hardly a full album. So, in the first month, if you get more than one album, you’re already saving money.
You can also cruse around, and listen to songs before you put them on your portable, and see if you will even like the song. It also beats the illegal networks, because there is virtually no download time, and you always get a good high-quality song. No spoofs, no poor rips.
The downside is, once you cancel Rhapsody (which, you probably will be too addicted to do so), all your music is gone.
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May 21, 2006