Pandora, Slacker, Last.fm, Spotify…there are many choices when it comes to internet music, but I recently found a strong contender for king of them all.  Grooveshark delivers an easy-to-use interface with a gorgeous design and provides one of the best streaming music services around.

As a student I constantly rely on music to help drown out the world around me so I can focus on my studies.  I have long relied on Pandora to provide me with music while working on my laptop.  Since discovering Grooveshark, however,  I may never go back.  The first thing you’ll notice when using Grooveshark is the outstanding design.  The folks that put this service together have an eye for good design and it makes Grooveshark a pleasure to work with.  The control layout is very reminiscent of iTunes and I consider that a good thing.

Who doesn't love GIANT search boxes?

Access to your music library, friends, favorites and playlists fall along the left side of the screen.  The interface allows you to drag and drop music tracks into different sections.  This makes it possible to quickly create playlists as well as share music with your friends.  Music in Grooveshark is handled much differently than traditional internet radio services such as Pandora and is, frankly, much more flexible.  You are not restricted to playing music that only sounds like the track you really want to hear.  Grooveshark allows you to play any individual song you choose.

When you first arrive at Grooveshark you’re provided with two smartlists, popular and recent.  The popular list allows you to look at all the most popular tracks being offered on Grooveshark at any time.

The best thing about the VIP service is the awesome design of the promotional page…

The recent list gives you all the most recent tracks you’ve listened to.  The smartlists are a feature obviously borrowed from Apple products, but again, that’s not a bad thing.

Quickly find a list of the most popular music

Grooveshark also offers a paid VIP service, but at this point there doesn’t seem to be any benefits worth shelling out the additional money.  The only real perk comes in the form of additional themes with which you can personalize your experience.  Even though I don’t recommend purchasing a VIP account, I heartily recommend visiting any sponsors to help support the site.  Probably the best thing about the VIP service is the awesome design of the promotional page…

Design goodness

That last thing I’d like to mention is the outstanding tool set provided to Artists to market and promote their work.  Grooveshark gives Artists a customizable dashboard which they can use to track the performance of their songs.  Artists may also purchase traditional ad space or promote their music with an Autoplay campaign.  Autoplay functions in much the same fashion as the Music Genome Project.  After playing a song in Grooveshark you may have the service find songs that match the sound on a number of factors.  By purchasing an Autoplay compaign an artist may match up their music with current popular artists.

If you're an Artist you will love the dashboard

Conclusion

I can thoroughly recommend Grooveshark to anyone looking for an alternative to the big music players. I believe design can speak volumes about the dedication of a company and I think Grooveshark has really hit a homerun. The recommendation doesn’t come without a least a few reservations. The search function definitely has room for improvement. While searching for songs I didn’t always receive the most relevant results and a predictive search box could go a long way in easing the frustration. That qualm aside, please give Grooveshark a try and let me know what you think.