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April 1, 2010

Grooveshark – Search, Stream, and Upload Tunes for Free

Grooveshark is a web-based music search engine that lets you find the songs you like, add them to a playlist, and listen to them instantly—all without any required payments or monthly membership fees. Rather than wasting time waiting for your favorite songs to come on the radio or paying money to download them on iTunes, Grooveshark lets users pinpoint their favorite tunes and listen to them through its online player just like you would with a jukebox. What makes the application even better than a traditional jukebox, though, is that you can save your favorite songs and create playlists to revisit each time you’re online.

To use Grooveshark, you have to create an account. Although membership is free for basic users, those who pay $3 a month for a VIP membership can access an advertising-free version of the site. Whichever membership option you choose, the next step to using Grooveshark remains the same—start searching for the artists or songs you like listening to the most and then click on those songs to play them right away. You can add songs to your ‘favorites’ list, or save them to a playlist for future listening. Click on the ‘similar’ tab to discover new music and check out other tunes that Grooveshark thinks you might enjoy.

Once you’ve saved songs to your account, they’ll be there for as long as you wish. Each time you return to the site, simply sign in to your account and listen to the songs you’ve saved. You can upload the music that you already own, too, and let other users stream it instantly on their computers. Grooveshark has millions of songs available to users already, but that number continues to grow as more users add their own music to the expanding collection. If you like listening to your favorite songs at your computer but dislike actually paying for them, then Grooveshark is an amazing application worth checking out.

Practical Uses:

  • Listen to your favorite songs on demand
  • Find new music from your favorite artists
  • Create individual playlists to suit each occasion
  • Upload your own music and share with others

Insider Tips:

  • Create RSS feeds based on the songs you’re listening to or adding to your favorites
  • Share any song or playlist with friends via social networking site or embeddable widget
  • Upload your own music to the site to continue expanding its catalog
  • Change the theme of your Grooveshark page to reflect your current mood

What we liked:

  • Huge catalog of music includes just about any song you’re looking for
  • Ability to download any song with one click
  • Click on “Popular Music” to see what other people are listening to
  • Turn your favorite song into a ringtone

What we didn’t like:

  • Nothing

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: 2007
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Gainesville, Florida
  • Founded by: Sam Tarantino, Josh Greenberg, and Andres Barreto
  • Web site: http://grooveshark.com

Costs:

  • Free
  • VIP memberships are $3/month

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