Best music apps: Grooveshark

Grooveshark
(Developed by Grooveshark)
Available for: Android, iOS (jailbroken), BlackBerry, Palm, Nokia
Price: $9/a month

At first, Grooveshark seemed like the answer to music enthusiasts' problems. The service allowed free on-demand listening and didn'tt cap the amount of time unpaid users use the service. Grooveshark for the desktop didn't even play ads, opting instead for banners on the in-browser music player. The service released apps for iOS and Android, which were each pulled from their respective stores for violating their terms of service. Jailbroken devices running iOS though can still use Grooveshark after downloading the app from the Cydia app store.

Despite these issues, Grooveshark still has its perks. Its apps are available on a variety of devices and premium users can listen offline, make and save playlists, listen to personalized radio and play songs on demand. Another bonus is that the service works worldwide, unlike some of the other mobile music services restricted to North America and/or Europe. In addition, anyone can add music to the Grooveshark library, meaning users need not waste time uploading content that is already available through Grooveshark.

However: Since the music available through Grooveshark is uploaded by its users, it is often tagged or labeled incorrectly. Consistency in terms of audio quality is also a problem. And if users want music that isn't already in the Grooveshark library, they will have to upload it themselves from their own collections.