I love music, and love listening to music. I currently have 8145 songs (44.58 GB) in my growing iTunes library. This is not the largest music library in the world, but a sizable collection, nonetheless.

While at my computer, which is a large portion of my day, I am constantly listening to music. A while ago I started using VirbTunes, a feature that is part of the Virb° social network, to record the music I was playing. VirbTunes uses a plugin that works with iTunes to record your music history. My main motivation for using VirbTunes was to display my recently played music on my website. However, after installing OS X Leopard, I couldn’t get the VirbTunes plugin to work correctly, so I ditched it and started looking for a replacement.

I turned to Last.fm, the online social music network. I made an account with Last.fm back in May, but never gave it a try until now. I have been using Last.fm since the beginning of December, and decided to review it and some of its features.

What Last.fm Does, and How it Does It

Last.fm uses a program to record the music you are listening to on iTunes. To use Last.fm you need to create an account and download Last.fm’s software. Once you begin listening to music on iTunes, the program automatically uploads this information to your online account, a process which it refers to as scrobbling.

One of the main reasons I didn’t want to give Last.fm a shot in the first place was because of the software. I hate installing unneeded programs on my computer, but decided to give Last.fm a chance anyway. Since installing the Last.fm program, I have actually come to like the software.

As you can see, besides showing the album art of song, the Last.fm player gives you historical information of the band which is currently playing. It also shows you the amount of times other Last.fm users have listened to that particular band.

Two other features on the Last.fm played that I find to be particularly useful are the ‘tags’ and ’similar artists.’ Classifying new music can be difficult at times, and with the tags, you can see how a particular song has been categorized by others. Even more useful is the similar artists feature which helps you find other great bands that compare to one to which you are listening.

Last.fm, Social Network

Scrobbling, however, is just the beginning of the Last.fm user experience. Last.fm has a very large number of users, and is truly a social network. Like other social networks, Last.fm has friends, groups, forums, and profile pages, all focused on creating an enlightened musical experience. I’m not one for social network features such as these, so I focus on the great music features that Last.fm offers, truly Last.fm’s meat and potatoes.

One of the only “social” features that I like is the way in which friends can share their music. Once you log in to your Last.fm account on their website, Last.fm shows you what music your friends have been hearing. Your friends can also recommend music for you, using the Last.fm program, and this music will also be listed on your personalized home page. It’s always neat to see what music your friends have been hearing with by-the-minute updates.

Last.fm Features

As I already mentioned, Last.fm records the music to which you have been listening. It keeps track of recently listened tracks, top overall tracks, and top overall artists. However, the music loving doesn’t stop there. Last.fm intelligently uses this data to suggest new bands based on your listening history. It also creates weekly list of neighbors, who are other Last.fm users with similar music tastes. Finally, it even finds local music festivals and concerts for bands that you like.

To help you discover new music, Last.fm has profiles pages for just about every band that you could think of. On these profile pages are songs to preview and videos to watch. Also listed are the bands top tracks, discography, and a place to discuss the band. Last.fm also has a bunch of options to help you share your music, including multiple ways to embed your music listening information online.

Features I Didn’t Mention

Last.fm also has some features that I don’t like as much, but I’ll mention them anyway. With Last.fm you can create a personalized music player. They call this your personal radio station. Last.fm also has their own radio, Last.fm Radio, which I haven’t really used. I not big on online radios, like Slacker, for example, and prefer to listen to my own music, or get new music that I just discovered and have it all to myself. There is also a place to write journal entries, similar to Facebook and MySpace, which I was never to fond of.

So, what began as a way for me to share the music I was hearing turned in a whole new music experience. Last.fm has helped me discover new music, and allows me to exchange my favorite music with my friends. Last.fm is a great tool to help you discover more music to love. If this article has sparked your interest in Last.fm, go create an account and start experiencing the goodness that Last.fm has to offer.