There's already an app for Last.fm available, so with a bit of luck Spotify could end up as one of the best one-stop-shops for both music discovery and playback. The recent unveiling of Spotify's App Finder, which essentially allows you to use curated plug-in-style apps within the Spotify desktop client, should help the service improve in that regard. Each artist page also includes links to similar artists, but if you're after music discovery Spotify is relatively weak compared to some of the other streaming services available like Last.fm, Pandora, MOG or Rdio. If you're interested in reading-up on a key artist, Spotify also includes biographies on some of the bigger artists.

Pick from a list of genres or styles of music and Spotify will chew through a curated selection of tracks. Spotify also provides radio-style streaming, if that's what you're after. Thankfully you can switch that off - and I suggest you do - to avoid annoying the hell out of your friends. Spotify was essentially spitting out status updates about each track you played to your Facebook account. Recently there's been a bit of controversy over the company's use of Facebook integration. Spotify is relatively social too - you can share playlists with anyone with a Spotify account. Spotify will also play local music files, so your entire iTunes library is also accessible from within the app - you don't have to forgo your original music collection or juggle two programs.

Where Spotify differs from most of the other free streaming music services is that it allows you to pick and choose tracks, not just artists or genres - it's not just radio-style streaming, it's like playing music in iTunes.

Search in the top left, find an artist you want to listen to and hit play. Log into the Spotify app on your Mac and you're presented with a fairly familiar interface. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy.

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