If you are looking for a safe source of free music, try Pandora.com. It is a secure site and not one of the shared music venues otherwise available…and prone to viruses.

This great website allows you to set up radio stations based on a song or artist. For example, if you like Marvin Gaye, you ask for a radio station that plays Marvin Gaye songs along with others of similar ilk. If you like Cassandra Wilson, same thing. If you like Dave Gruisin, same thing.

I have several dozen stations established from smooth jazz, to funkier jazz, to rock and roll, to soul to rhythm and blues. The really neat thing about Pandora, is that they offer a feature to mix your stations. So…if you want to hear some mellow jazz, but also some rhythm and blues, you simply select those stations and Pandora mixes the stations for you.

One minor quirk…Pandora will temporarily pause your stations if you have not been on the site for approximately 45 minutes. You simply click on “I am still listening”…and you roll for another 45 minutes. This is a minor inconvenience vs. the variety and simplicity of this music venue.

Try it and let me know what you think.