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Internet radio comes of age

Back at the turn of the century, internet radio was a novelty - and little more.

Stations largely mimicked the radio that most of us knew from car stereos, doing little to distinguish themselves as products of the information age.

But a lot has changed in recent years. Today, the best internet radio stations incorporate all that the web has to offer - including customization and collaboration - with a seemingly unlimited palette of music and information.

The result: a product that just might have you turning to the internet first for your radio listening pleasure - and tapping your feet a lot in the process. Here’s an overview of some of the most innovative and popular radio sites around.

Pandora.com

Legend has it that Pandora’s box is full of surprises, and that’s what internet radio station Pandora.com (http://www.pandora.com) gives you. The surprises, though, are largely pleasant.

Billing itself as the radio station that plays “only music you like,” Pandora is big on customization. Once you create a free account, Pandora prompts you to create a new radio station based upon an artist or song that you enjoy.

Once created, the station begins playing, typically with the song or artist around which the station was defined. Subsequent musical selections, however, are taken from artists or songs that are likely to be appealing to those who enjoy the artist or song that you originally created the station around.

Create a station called “the beatles,” for instance, and Pandora plays songs not only from the Fab Four but also from bands such as Credence Clearwater Revival, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and other artists that typically appeal to Beatles fans.

You can tell Pandora whether you like a particular selection by clicking an up or down thumb as the song plays. An options menu allows you to include or exclude particular artists or songs altogether. Skipping to the next song is a one-click affair.

Pandora makes full use of the information and community available online, too, so you aren’t limited simply to listening to the songs as they play. An “about this music” section below each song gives you background information about the artists or song, and a “sharing” button makes it easy to share a station or to find stations that others have shared.

Perhaps the best thing about Pandora is that you aren’t limited to listening to it while you’re at a computer. Pandora Mobile, also free, is available as an installable application on some of the most popular handheld devices, including BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre, and Windows Mobile.

Last.fm

Last.fm (http://www.last.fm), like Pandora, is built around the concept of customisable radio: you define the artist or group you like, and Last.fm picks the selections - both from the artists themselves and from those that are similar in genre or mood. Last.fm tends to play more songs from an individual artist before moving on to selections from other, similar artists.

Last also distinguishes itself by incorporating video heavily into its interface. Still clips of artists are panned and zoomed around the YouTube-like video window for the duration of each song. This may be an appealing feature to you or a distraction.

The good news is that you can turn off the video slideshow if you wish. A dedicated Videos section gives you instantaneous access to the latest music videos from artists of all genres.

Because there’s no registration required, you’ll be up and running with Last.fm faster than you will with Pandora. The downside is that Last won’t remember your preferences from computer to computer unless you sign up. Last.fm is also not as readily accessible on mobile devices as is Pandora. And finally, Last.fm is not free. After a trial period of 30 songs, Last.fm charges 3 dollars per month.

AccuRadio.com

Compared to Pandora and Last, AccuRadio (http://www.accuradio.com) comes across as something of a throwback to the way internet radio used to be. With pre-defined stations and pseudo announcers, AccuRadio is more similar to traditional radio stations than it is to the customisable fare on Pandora. But thanks to its wide selection of existing channels and stellar sound, AccuRadio stands out as one of the best of the old breed.

Using AccuRadio is simple. You can either choose a genre or type the name of an artist or album into the Search field, and then select from a list of stations that are likely to feature the music you most enjoy. Stations open in a small browser window, which can be moved unobtrusively to one side of your monitor or minimised altogether.

Internet-based radio in general makes a lot more sense today than it did when it first appeared in the heyday of internet mania in the 90s.

That’s because most people already have a computer that’s fully equipped to play sound, licensing issues with the major record labels have been ironed out in most countries, and internet-based advertising has proven itself to be enough of a source of income to make internet radio viable. That’s all good news for music fans, who now have more ways to enjoy their favourite music - and discover new music - than ever before.