Top 10 Net Links

Thomas Carlyle once wrote, “Music is the speech of angels.” If you want to hear what they’re saying, check out these music sites and let your listening pleasure soar.

1. Last.fm: Founded in 2007, this radio streaming site lets you create your own profile and then keeps track of what you listen to on your iPod, iTunes, and other digital media devices. Then, it recommends bands, songs, and free downloads.
2. Pitchfork: Only people who really love music could be so harsh to it. Read Pitchfork for well-written reviews putting down everybody’s favorite bandsand direction to some really good music you wouldn’t find any other way.
3. NPR Music: NPR brings its elegant style to the music industry, showcase up-and-coming artists and featuring hours of archived concerts, podcasts, and regular programming.
4. YouTube Symphony Orchestra: This experimental, interactive symphony called for musicians from all over the world to post a video of themselves playing a particular piece”Internet Symphony No. 1 Eroica” by Tan Dun. The videos were voted on, and the best were compiled into a video performance.
5. eMusic: The anti-Itunes, eMusic features largely independent artists (now with some major labels as well), no DRM-encoding, and an innovative pricing model in which you pay for a number of tracks rather than by song.
6. Metacritic: Like a Rotten Tomatoes for music, this site collates reviews from many different sources, converting them into a handy percentage. While you might not always agree with their methods, it’s handy for checking the reception of your favorite artist’s new record.
7. Amazon MP3: Falling somewhere in between iTunes and eMusic, Amazon MP3 features both major and independent artists, usually with huge savings. For example, you could get the new Arcade Fire album The Suburbs for 3.99 the week it came out.
8. The Live Music Archive: Performances by bands from the Grateful Dead to Death Cab for Cutie are posted here for free (and legal) download by fans, for fans.
9. Daytrotter: When the studio’s in season, this site posts three-to-four song sets by usually unknown talent, although they have featured legends like Carly Simon.
10. Little Steven’s Underground Garage: This site caters to those who prefer their music raw and loud, no matter what the era. The weekly radio show is hosted by Steven Van Zandt, who played with Springsteen and starred in The Sopranos.