---

Last.fm

www.last.fm

Methodology

Last.fm is considered one of the premier personalized music recommendation services available today due to its ease-of-use, quality of recommendations, and interactivity. In order to use Last.fm, the listener must first create an account and download the Audioscrobbler plugin, which tracks the listener's playcounts of tracks, albums, and artists. All of this information is made available and analyzed on the user's personal Last.fm homepage, where the user has access to personalized streaming internet radio, similar music networks, and similar listener networks. Users also have the option to tag their music as they deem appropriate and write blogs relating to or reviewing their music. This vast network of features and the service's relative ease-of-use makes Last.fm a winner.

Pros and Cons

Last.fm is a premier service because it is easy and fun to use, generates very good personalized recommendations, and has an entertaining social aspect. The major flaw in the system lies in the cyclical nature of its recommendations, due to its reliance on a collaborative filtering system which favors more popular artists over artists that might be better catered to a specific listener. Despite this and a number of minor areas for improvement, Last.fm has proven itself as a simple and powerful personalized music recommendation service.