Rhapsody Revisited
Music purchased due to Rhapsody thick client use late 2005 through mid 2006. Cannot use Rhapsody now that I am at Amazon, as prefer the thick client, which requires Windows, which I do not run at home. Also, I buy the actual music, not Digitally Restricted Music (DRM) audio. Rhapsody is great for streaming and finding new music, though one should start with a lossless source, and skip the DRM shackles. Disclaimer: I used to work for RealNetworks.
By way of background, my music tastes run from Bach through bebop to bizarre by way of metal, notably minus certain genres.
- Coming on Strong by Hot Chip. Probably found as a new release under some genre or another.
- Flyleaf’s self-titled album.
- Wholeness and Separation by Halou. Found via some “you might like this” link based on who knows what I was streaming at the time.
- Ok Go. Actually found band following NPR coverage, though Rhapsody great for full length streaming while decide whether or not to buy. Excellent upbeat music for coding.
- 1909 by Scrabbel. Recommended by coworker. Great eccentric band.
- We Shall Overcome by Bruce Springsteen. Found in new releases listing.
- First We Waited Then It Started by Summer Lawns.
Three kinds of music: bad, stream only, or buy. Despise radio, as they either yammer, or worse, put on advertisements. A directed streaming service like Rhapsody lets you control what gets streamed (exactly via playlist, or roughly via radio options), and listen long enough to decide whether to buy or not.
Some online services sell music unencumbered by DRM, though the library sizes and samples did not suit me when I looked at them.