August 1: Spotify

Many services are pushing their way to the forefront on the inter-webs these days that will get you in touch with the newest, oldest, coolest, obscurest and bestest music known to humankind. You've got Pandora, iTunes Genius setting, Turntable.fm (which sounds incredibly cool if you have a more creative ability with music), Last.fm, not to mention the music channels on your XM receiver or as part of your cable television offerings.

So this week, the GSD Staff hunkered down and gave Spotify the ol' wheel kick and test drive. And, as it turns it, it's worth the MBs of space it'll take up on your laptop. It's not as slick as iTunes and it's not as surprising as Pandora can be, but what it offers is great. What Spotify gives you that the aforementioned do not is the ability to put together a playlist without buying a single song. GSD strongly believes that artists need to be compensated for their amazing work and that all songs added to your iPod need to be paid for, but, if you're sitting at the computer and you'd like to play a little music, why not put together an All-Time Greatest Hits compilation of your absolutely favorite songs without spending a dime? If you really love a song, you should purchase that song and, by doing so, support the artist.

Just the other day in the office we happened across the Billy Squier classic, "Lonely Is the Night." We'd forgotten about how much this song rocks, so we looked it up on Spotify, there it was, and -- bam! -- we added it to the starred playlist. We tried a few other obscurer tunes -- The Mountain Goats' "Pigs Ran Straightway Into the Water, Triumph Of" (2005) and "Reckoning Day" by The Rainmakers (1989) -- and sure enough we found them, too. We're not entirely sure yet if you can create playlists within the starred song playlist (our guess is "of course"), but does it really matter? Not in the mood for the song on the playlist? Hit the double arrows button and off you go to your next "Greatest Song of All Time." It's that easy and the price is right.

Spotify is only available right now by requesting an invite. The GSD Staff's invite came within 48 hours. Go to Spotify now. It'll take a day or two to get used to if you like iTunes and Pandora, but learning the ropes will be well worth it.