Hobbies & How To's

From step-by-step tutorials to helpful hints, the Readers.com family is always up for trying new things. Join us each month as we consult the experts in fields ranging from social media to antique hunting in our Hobbies & How To’s series, and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way! 

4 Ways to Find Music Online

While nothing quite compares to spinning those classic vinyl records with your family in the living room, there are lots of new, convenient (and free!) ways to listen to your favorite music on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Check out our list below and discover all the new places you can listen to all your past favorite hits! Maybe you’ll find that your favorite songs aren’t so hard to find after all.

1. Spotify

 

Spotify is a free, easy-to-use music streaming application that you can download for your desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet. When you install Spotify, you are asked to create an account by using either your email address or your Facebook profile. Connecting to Spotify through Facebook will provide you with lots of ways to connect with your friends over music. You can message your friends back and forth, sending them your latest favorite tunes, and you can follow the playlists they’ve created on their own accounts. Also, by linking through Facebook, your Spotify activity will show up on your profile, allowing your friends to see the songs you’ve been rocking out to lately.

There are lots of different ways to use Spotify. Keep it simple by just searching for your favorite band or song in the search bar and begin listening instantly! However, if you want to begin creating your own personal streaming library, you can add songs to playlists, discover new music recommendations based on your previous listens and likes, and browse and follow playlists created by other users in Spotify based on genre, mood, popularity, and new releases.

Download and install Spotify here!

Recommended Playlists

 

2. Pandora

 

If you aren’t already hooked on using Pandora, you probably will be after learning more about it. Pandora is internet radio tailored to your own personal taste in music.

Here’s how it works: Sign up for Pandora by creating an account using your email address and choosing a password. Then, create a station by choosing a genre of music, an artist or band, or a song that you like. Pandora then automatically generates songs you might like based on your station selection. If you do like what Pandora plays, click the thumbs up button. If you don’t care for it, press thumbs down, and Pandora will skip to a new song you might like better. By giving the thumbs up/thumbs down feedback, the “smarter” your station becomes. Give it a try — you’ll be amazed at some of the songs Pandora digs up.

Create a Pandora account here!

Recommended Stations

  • Earth, Wind, and Fire Radio
  • Today’s Adult Hits Radio
  • Fleetwood Mac Radio

 

3. iTunes Radio

 

Chances are, you already use iTunes to store music you’ve purchased and listen to on a regular basis. To keep up with the growing number of online music streaming services, however, iTunes is now more than just a place to buy and catalogue MP3s. iTunes Radio functions in a way similar to Pandora. You can create a station based on an artist, song, or genre, and then star the song to generate more songs that are similar, or skip the song if you don’t care for that selection.

Another unique feature on iTunes is Genius. There are three components to the Genius feature on your iTunes dashboard. Genius playlists create a playlist with songs in your own library. All you have to do is select one song, click the Genius icon, and the playlist will automatically generate. Genius will also recommend new music for you to purchase on iTunes based on songs in your current library. With all of these smart features, you’ll never be out of suggestions for new music to explore.

Download iTunes here! You’ll need to create an Apple ID if you don’t already have one. For more on creating an Apple ID on your iPad, click here.

Recommended Stations

  • Led Zeppelin Radio
  • iTunes Top 50 Radio
  • “Saturday Night Fever” Radio

 

4. YouTube

 

YouTube is not only a great way to listen to music, but a great way to watch music videos and live performances from your favorite musicians that you either missed or want to relive.

Finding a YouTube video is as easy as searching for the song you’re looking for in the search bar. Like videos that you enjoy by pressing the thumb icon, and YouTube automatically saves it to your Liked Videos playlists so you can go back and watch them again and again. Another convenient feature of YouTube: related and similar videos will show up in the sidebar of the video you’re watching, so you can keep browsing until you find exactly what you’re looking for. Be careful — this is what makes YouTube so awesomely addicting!

Recommended Channels

 

How do you love to listen to your favorite music? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook! And if you need further help walking through each of these online music tools, send us a message on Facebook and we’ll be happy to help!