If folk and classical music don’t move you, then let me recommend something that may be more to your taste: Fingertips. Fingertips claims to be the intelligent guide to free and legal music online. That is not an idle boast. Each week, the author identifies (from the vast quantity of promotional tracks and other online music) what he considers new, innovative and exciting. They do not fit cleanly into any genre but do all deserve to be considered. Each recommendation comes with a short and helpful review of the track.

There are a number of online radio stations that are worth listening to. But last.fm offers something unique. After you have selected some of your music preferences, last.fm is able to predict what other artists you might enjoy. What’s more, last.fm offers an online radio feed that will play those songs to you. Some will be newer, unheard-of artists. Others will be famous and well-known. But last.fm is generally very good, given enough information, at predicting what you like.

For a similar approach, look at the aptly-named iRate radio. The system downloads freely available music. You listen to each track and rate it. That information is then used to predict what other music you might enjoy.

Both iRate radio and last.fm are excellent chances to transcend traditional classifications of music. A statement such as “I like rock music” is bound to be imprecise for all but the most avid fans; most people do not like all rock music. Both radio stations try to look deeper than the “rock” genre to find what you really might like.