Shazam Encore
If I’m ever going to “show off” my iPhone to people who have never used one *gasp* the Shazam app is usually the first thing I use.
What’s that song playing in the background of this restaurant? Oh hey I think I’ve heard that song in this TV show before, but I can’t remember what it is.
Shazam can answer those questions for you. Just “Touch to Shazam” and it will Listen to the song playing and (most of the time) automagically tell you what song it is. From there you can share the song on various social networks, email it to a friend and even buy the ringtone of that song. The free version does all of this as well but limits the number of songs you can Shazam which is why I have the paid version. Because. I’m. Obsessed.
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Pandora – Free Music & Radio
Magical robots spy on you and read your mind and then play your favorite songs totally based on your current mood. It’s psychic I tell you.
Ok but really you get to create your own music stations on Pandora. Each time a song is playing you can thumbs up or thumbs down so it will learn your taste.
Last.fm
If overshare is your middle name and you want everyone to know what song you are currently listening to and your top 10 weekly artists then you NEED Last.fm. Last.fm is a social sharing website with any number of ways to grab what you are currently listening to. Some people have their weekly top artists share to Twitter, the Blog, and/or Facebook. Last.fm is also a great way to discover new music because the Recommendations are based on what you’ve been listening to.
If you prefer music that doesn’t come through headphones the Events feature in this app is a great way to discover what’s happening in your city music wise. Imagine that – music in.real.life!
SoundTracking
Do you have grand illusions that your life is a movie? Oh right me either. Well if you did, you could create your own life soundtrack with SoundTracking. This app has a similar music ID feature to Shazam. The differentiator is that you can add comments AND tag locations with each song that you soundtrack. The trending songs feature is pretty fun as well.
And as with any good social app you can listen the songs that your friends think are worth sharing.
Turntable.fm ~ play music together
This is the newest music app to the scene, but likely to be your new favorite. But be warned – it.is.addiction. The idea is that YOU and your friends* get to be a DJ. You can hop into a room at add your song to the mix. Or if you’re a passive music listener you can lurk, listen to your friends picks and rate them as Lame or Awesome.
*by “friends” I of course mean everyone on the internet
