8tracks The Moodiest Music Site on the Web

8tracks The Moodiest Music Site on the Web Photo from theletter.co.uk Welcome to 8tracks. The self-proclaimed [h]andcrafted internet radio site, named the Best Website of 2011 by Time Magazine,  uses a tagging system for its user-created playlists. When you search for that summer + hipster mix, every playlist that has been tagged with those two words will come up. Each mix has at least 8 tracks to it, but can have many more than that, and will always have a wide variety of music on each.  On 8tracks, users can listen to or create mixes. It is great for sharing mixes with your friends, but also with perfect strangers. If youve created a study mix that works well for you, post it to 8tracks and let it help someone else in their study-stress!  Not in the  mood? Search for an artist or genre and let 8tracks work its magic. Though 8tracks doesnt always offer the perfect selection of music, because, of course, we all have different tastes from one another, its fairly spot on most of the time. My only complaints would be that  as a listener, you cannot skip more than 3 songs per mix in one hour before having to go to the next one and you cannot go back to a song after its played. Some of the mixtape art is a little risqué as well, so in a more professional setting, its hard to find mixes to listen to. Thankfully, there is a setting that you can put on called Safe Browse that will skip over tracks and playlists that are inappropriate. Other great features include the Youtube and iTunes buttons on the bottom of each mix. If youve found a new song that you really like, you can find where to buy it or listen to it again on using these links. Want to take 8tracks on the go? There are free Android  and iPhone  apps available, which have both had recent updates with great reviews. For those of you who are looking for more out of this site (mostly just DJs) there is 8tracks plus. This upgraded version of the site includes an ad-free site and several DJ-focused features that are to be released soon. The cost is $25 for a 6-month subscription and 14-free trial. I wouldnt say its worth it, because unlike  Pandora,  the ads are simply non-audio sidebars, so for a regular listener, the upgraded version does not offer much. Simply listen away with the free version! What moods do you use 8tracks for?