betterPropaganda - Free MP3s and music videos.

betterPropaganda - Free MP3s and music videos.
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of bumping into a long lost friend, betterPropaganda. When I got my first computer with high speed internet connection I immediately delved into the world of online music, generally being frustrated with shady legalities and bad music. At some point I found betterPropaganda and I was set, except after a while it seemed that they weren't adding new music and the site wasn't running as good as it should, so I moved on. Well, I'm pleased to say that betterPropaganda is now my new/old favorite spot for new tunes. It's got the best mix of indie, electronica, and hip-hop, but if you prefer you can filter out any of those genres. They highlight 15 recomended tunes in the right column and all you have to do is click stream and away it goes. If you like a song you can download it free and legally. Based on their recomendation, I'll be downloading the New Young Pony Club tonight (great party music, check their myspace page for a few more tunes). Below the recommendations are the 10 most recent additions to the site, also streamable. If that's not enough they have a streaming radio link that's been perfect for listening while at work.

When you want to dig deeper into a band, they have pages for each band with bio stuff and list of all songs available on bP. Again you can stream them. I have run into one small problem, when I stream one artist's songs, then go to another artist's page and try to stream the new artist's songs I get the original stream. Hopefully that won't last forever. Also nice, while on the artists page there is a list of similar artists, again all streamable. So, if you're in a Brazillian Girls mood, but don't want to listen to only Brazillian Girls, click the stream similar link and get Slow Train Soul, Danger Mouse & Zero 7, Bjork, Royksopp, Nouvelle Vague, and others. Great for finding new music.

If that wasn't enough you can also rate artists and get more personalized recommendations. I haven't even begun to dig into the reviews, interviews, and podcasts. Now, some of the features require signing up, but it's a free login and they don't ask much. I actually had an old login that I forgot about, so I can't recall what they ask. They also send newsletters if you opt in.

Sorry soma.fm, last.fm, accuradio, and kcrw, I won't be spending much time with you in the near future.