It wasn’t so long ago that new Internet radio stations like Radio Io and Radio Paradise took the WWW by storm. Suddenly, you could stream your favorite music genres and sub-genres (“Alt Rock”, “Acid Jazz”, “Hairbands”) all day long, or all weekend if you wanted. No longer was your listening limited to FM radio and those annoying DJs or “three in row” playlists before a commercial interruption.

Then came Pandora, an Internet radio/media player hybrid based on the Music Genome Project. This breakthrough music service uses a complex mathematical algorithm to organize music types according to the attributes (over 400 traits or ‘genes’) of each song. It sounds complicated, but the result is that you create your own radio station based on your likes, dislikes, moods and other preferences. Create as many mixes as you like, as often as you like – and share them with friends or post to your Facebook page. (more…)