How I recommend you use Last.fm: Find your favorite band/artist, listen to its “similar” station. Click “love” on all the tracks you want to hear again. Every track you’re not thrilled with, click “ban”.

That means don’t leave your player unattended, or you’ll rack up tracks that will haunt you later. You should try to ban every track you don’t love. If you don’t ban a track it’s probably stuck in your profile forever. Which reminds me, make sure you find the option that only scrobbles tracks listened to all the way though. Otherwise, even banned tracks are added to your listening history.

A limited range of artists orbit a “similar” station. So it’s important to change stations now and then. What I do, as I’m listening, if I hear a new artist I really like I’ll switch to his/her similar station and listen to the artists orbiting there. It’s a bit of work but worth it. I might stick to a station as long as a month before I’m burned out on it.

Love or ban. Love or ban. Life is too short to listen to lousy tracks more than once. Finally, when you have enough tracks under your belt, pay the $3 membership. With a membership you can play your loved tracks all day long. I find listening to my “loved” station relaxing, I get to listen passively w/o touching the computer and every song is pretty much guaranteed to please. If you’ve been on Last.fm for a few years, memories will come rolling back.

For a whole month you’re in bliss. The world could collapse but your “loved” tracks are playing.