The two sites have similarities such as the user will name a band that they are a fan of, and in return the site suggests other bands that have a similar sound to the band that the user is already familiar with.  In general, it is a great way to discover new bands that the user is almost guaranteed to enjoy.

Pandora bookmarks bands or songs that the user types in, and plays a song by the band that has the band’s sound.  Then goes through and plays other bands that have a similar sound and the user can decide whether or not they like the song with a thumbs up or down.  Unfortunately, you can’t type in an exact song you wish to hear and you can only skip so many songs in the given amount of time.

Last.fm on the other hand has a client that the user downloads, and as the user plays the music on their computer through a program, such as iTunes, it “scrobbles” the music and adds it to your profile.  The user can look up specific bands and add it to their playlist.  The downfall of Last.fm is the “scrobbled” songs are not in their entirety.

So which site is better? I guess it depends on who you ask.  I have an account with both, although I use Last.fm more often than Pandora, but that is a matter of personal preference.

Last.fm is an amazing website to show others what music you listen to, and find others with similar music interests. You can discover other bands and singers with a similar sound to the bands you already listen to. It’s one of the best ways to discover music that you’re almost guaranteed to like.

Once you download the recommended system, “Audioscrobbler,” Last.fm builds a profile automatically that reflects the users music preference. The profile data is displayed on a personal webpage.

My Last.fm