The last free internet radio service

is hardly Last.fm, but I have to say, it's the last --and first one I've used with any kind of consistency and effectiveness.

Do you have your own private internet (connection)? Then you've already paid the price of admission and are all set to start your own personalized internet radio station! If you're old enough to be familiar with Yahoo's Launchcast internet radio service, then you pretty much already know how Last.fm works. If not, Last.fm breaks down to this: you sign up for YET ANOTHER website and create YET ANOTHER profile. After going through the standard procedures of creating a user name, a password and verifying your email you are asked to enter the bands and musicians you like. Based on the bands and performers you enter, Last.fm will create a station tailored to your tastes and preferences. Niffty huh?

Also, if you're willing to download the last.fm scrobbler tool, they can track the number of times you play any track in your iTunes or Windows Media Player libraries and factor in your library play counts to the equation used to create your station. Another similar tool tracks plays from your iPod or MP3 player when you connect the device to your computer to change your playlists or add new music.

In addition to a commercial free radio station made to measure to your tastes, Last.fm also recommends artists not yet in your library that you may like, as well as free MP3 downloads. The MP3 downloads have surprised me the most so far. Shockingly they aren't all crappy local bands just looking for exposure, nor are they all crappy flavor-of-the-next-five-minutes bands that the big labels are trying to push. I actually like most the of the free downloads recommended to me. Some of the more pleasant surprises I've found in my "recommended free MP3" list Crunktessa's remix of Tiga's Shoes, a track from Oh No Oh My's Dmitrij Dmitrij EP, and this electronic piece by Pogo, a track 90% composed of sounds in Walt Disney's 1951 animated feature Alice in Wonderland.