this is so great.I listen to this at work and at home. I love it.

Nice!

Nice stations there. On an unrelated note, thanks for the "Show All" button, but where're the "Most Thumbed Up/Down" stuff? I guess the idea is not to clutter up profiles with superfluous info?

I'm the most satisfied currently with my Pretty Pop Princesses station: http://www.pandora.com/stations/31c4bfdc3160f4561a7e863587e9489ba0f202080df67652 .

Of course, as usual, a bunch of us all talk about station development and share our stations at http://pandorastations.com/ , and anyone interested is welcome to join us there. There are many well curated stations posted by category there as well.

I just happened upon Pandora and love it. I use the thumbs up/thumbs down alot. It makes the work day go by quicker. I also get more work done with my headphones on and just listen.

@Frank: Thumbs up/down chart is a little bit pointless if you screw 'character stations' where you thumb down many music you like just because it doesn't fit in that place.
Greets, micha

pandora has made changes on what music i listen to !!! thanks

I love the idea of the DigiChill station...I started out with a Lemon Jelly station
http://www.pandora.com/stations/fb5b622166cb043f39cb0dc63b401f26e34c1ff4c572de96#
...I listen to pandora all day long trying to evolve my stations. I work on the station til it's only music that I think fits the style then I take the band which I think most signifies that station and create a new one to see where it will take me next. I'm on my 5th evolution of this station now (check out my Lotus Station to see where it is at the present). Hopefully the Lotus station will manifest something awesome for my next evolution.
...man i wish I could come work for pandora and disect music all day long - I think my genes are made up of A, B, C, D, E, F, & G - not just A-G-T-C. Enjoy! ...and go see live music!

i picked emeinem for my radio station and so far none of them, even been close youknow you wish you could atleast here somthing that at least comes close but pandora needs a little more practice at finding similar music you know if i wanted an vanilla ice or marky mark station i would of wrote that down instead of tupac/eminem station. but this is a cool idea pandora keep it up maybe tie it in with directv hey if that works out you'll give me a percentage right! cool

Thanks for the great comments, guys! I love looking at what other people do with their Pandora stations.

Mike: maybe try starting with one Eminem song? Starting a station with a song oftentimes builds a more precise station than using an artists' whole repertoire as a seed. And make sure you thumbs down songs that don't fit the station you're wanting to build...the station will become more and more suited to your tastes.

cheers, lucia

HEY THIZ MUSIC IZ THE BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a listen to "Classic Gravel." I'm liking where it's taking me.

http://www.pandora.com/share/station/b61d76bbf7e07b94f44c1b2d1dacdbd11a4394cc54d97b8b

i am always developing and fine tuning my stations that all refer to pretty different musical backgrounds... you can find pretty detailed characterizations for each of my stations on their respective description pages.
mostly, i am using large amounts of artist seeds while making pandora play what i exactly like by giving thumbs up/downs.

i'd love to hear some feedback on my stations; up to now i only got two of them and these were pretty positive.

ps: i am missing a function to customize the stations that appear on my website by using your tools (http://www.pandora.com/feeds#blog); for example, i don't want my "quick mix" or just recently installed stations to show up.
pps: why not give the option "move this song to a different station" while using the "quick mix"? i would use this often.
ppps: i am still missing bands like the fantastic earthtone9 (r.i.p.), khoma, lingua,...

Is there anywhere to donate directly to the Music Genome Project or Pandora? I click your ad's (which are actually informative at times!) to support you as much as possible, but would like to do more.

Also, do you have big backers? I hear there are strange laws being pushed through and lobbied for by the RIAA etc that could make life difficult.

Do you ever release financial figures so we know when is the best time to help?

Thank you, I want this to live on well beyond my listening habits and hopefully into my children's generation.

I'm more than satisfied with of all of my stations, though the gems I'm particularly proud of are my "Bestrogen" (also a favorite for a few other users), "Somber Party", and "Dublooney Tunes" stations -- all linked to in my profile (click my name below). Actually, I think these also have the highest "thumbed up/down" ratio, which is possibly a good metric to judge how "good" your station is. [Maybe add that stat to station pages as a new feature?]

I definitely agree that the best results come from seeding with songs, though I mostly tend to seed with artists who are pretty consistent in their sound/style throughout most of their repertoire. Looking through some stations I made a while ago, there are very few song seeds, and when I do see one, I wonder what I was thinking..

And of course, near-obsessive training doesn't hurt. :]

-Us

songs with lyrics tend to be much more polarizing than insrrumentals, no matter what type. If it was words, I tend to dislike a song after fewer listens, or like it more straight from the get-go.
Pandora does amazingly with instrumental music, but because the human voice is a lot easier to form differing opinions on that just a guitar, I find that the descriptions given by pandora don't usually coincide with my perceptions of songe with lyrics nearly as much as they do with instrumentals.

try, for example seeding a station with your favorite instrumental song... see how many songs align to your tastes without any further fine-tuning; compare that to the amount of tuning you need to do with a single song seed that revolves around vocals.

...or maybe I'm just strange that way.

just like to say that I'm really enjoying Pass the Peas from "Addi". Really fun and upbeat party music.

I am very proud of my Joanna Newsom station. Although that's not all it is of course, I still call it that because I know that if I see the name Joanna Newsom I will be excited to listen to that station since she's my favorite artist. And since to me she embodies sweet, soft, often happy, sometimes wistful, mysterious & mythical music with thoughtfully written lyrics, either profound or silly, but always heartwarming... that is why I think of her music every time I hit thumbs up or thumbs down. You see, I often am drawn to sad, dark music (not goth, more like Elliott Smith) and so I wanted a station that still has some of that but with more of a hopeful side. And I think that really happened for me. So take a listen. And thanks, Pandora.

http://www.pandora.com/stations/aa3814e12502308df80b14771e268066be65aaf34da7c82c

I attempted to make a series of stations for the QuickMix feature, which wasn't there when I first started out with Pandora and took a Hiatus, but was there when I returned. I fussed around with some (Six, in fact) stations, juggling them and all, and gave them coded names for myself and all...

Yet now, I listen almost Exclusively to QuickMix with three stations, one of which wasn't even tweaked for my original purpose, but is simply an old station of mine.

I have no idea which is my favorite. They sort of work in conjunction. One is the result of a frantic seeding of countless artists and songs, and then just as much thumbs-up/down-ing. It's really my Main station (http://www.pandora.com/stations/02d1da0588c567cc12d246f13459609037fe645aee850161)but it still feels unfinished and sometimes too broad or eclectic. Too much stuff. Thus, I temper it with the simpler Point/Counterpoint station (http://www.pandora.com/stations/2aac54a8f809a824b55a70ff92b8a705ee56ad17f84d5fe3) The third station, therefore, is probably my 'favorite' in that it is much more Complete and focused than the first station. It's entirely (or maybe Almost entirely) instrumental... lots of orchestrated stuff or piano solos with 'new age influences', although (oddly enough, in my opinion) ENYA hasn't popped up yet. I may seed them in.. I'd have already shoved in "Twelve Girls Band" if Pandora had 'em, as well as some Others. (http://www.pandora.com/stations/6fd4ee892cd68116f37fcc3dd980f2e005435abf9567d83c) It was originally built off Nobuo Uematsu.

Quick note back to Adam about the rate change. I've just posted on that on our blog if you want to get a sense. It's very kind of you to offer to help. Looks like eventually we could really use a concerted effort by our listeners to contact their congressperson. For small companies, that's really our best and only protection. This new ruling is completely irrational. Our hope is that sanity will eventually return.

Thanks. Tim (Founder)

Haha very interesting.

I'm a fan of rap, so I like your taste Addi :)

My station, The Tangerine Lizard, is similar to Digichill, but veers off on some edgy tangents, encompassing Lounge, Chill, House, Acid Jazz, Techno & Dub.

http://www.pandora.com/stations/70cfca8576691014b09af8ebeb45099e6952b56c07c96377

It's difficult to include disparate genres without getting some really bizarre results, but after much up & down voting, it has settled down a bit.

As to the RIAA:
Sanity has nothing to do with the RIAA. They seem oblivious to the potential for increased revenue on anything but their own terms. What they want is absolute control of all content. Our financially-compromised congress will give them what they want. I hate to be so pessimistic about the situation, but it's warranted. It would take an extensive grassroots opposition organization to resist this. That's a massive undertaking. I hope you succeed.

A feature request: in the menu for adding bookmarks and backstage links, it would be nice to be able to seed an artist or song directly from there. I'd also like to be able to browse lists of other stations classified by genre without using a specific keywords; a directory.

Caia - Maiku Takahashi and Andy Cato (Groove Armada) - missing from your selection.

Also, is there a way to see which songs are available by a given artist? I've not been able to find a way to do this.

Thanks for the service. I found it frustrating at first, but once you put some time into maturing a station it begins to pay off. The Tangerine Lizard is really becoming enjoyable for me to listen to.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoy listening to the stations I have created on pandora. One of my favorites is Gospel Praise, my contemporary African American Gospel station (http://www.pandora.com/stations/7c5b6b7c898b949ab9bdf5ed04f3d841016b09a065d4485e).
I have been working on this station for quite a while and I am amazed at the wonderful selections pandora comes up. Every now and then a sexy r&b number with a gospel beat or vocal style is served up, but through my judicious use of the thumbs up/down, I have managed to remove almost all the inappropriate entries. I listen to it all the time and there seems to be an almost endless stream of exactly the kind of music I want to hear!

I also tried to do something a bit more challenging. I created my Spiritual Light station to play only Indian Spiritual music (http://www.pandora.com/stations/6509e0b7eaf1fd0cd7daacbf5dc39dfa93d26a2c47d21416).
I started with such artists as Khrishna Das and Deva Premal, two artists that make the most heart lifting music. Well, the station has forged a path of its own. I get music that range from Massive Attack, Big Yellow Taxi, to Donovan, to Enya and (believe it or not) Lesbians on Ecstasy; combinations I never would have ever associated on my own! Some days, the selections are better than others, but it is always fascinating to hear what pandora comes up with.

Please keep up the good work, and thanks for such a cool service.

Thanks for all the comments, stations, and suggestions!

It's always wild to see how everybody uses Pandora differently.

Remember, any time you have a question for staff or a feature or music suggestion, just go here to email us: http://www.pandora.com/customer_service/
Or, click on the "Support" link at the bottom of any Pandora page.

We read and answer every email...and promptly!

:) Lucia

Pardon if I'm off-topic....I need a Pandora blog FAQ. Can one, how does one open a new topic? (I even find it difficult to effectively search the FAQ.)

One question, please:

How to remove a Zzz request?

I suggest the topic on "Care and feeding of your stations" be edited and made sticky.

Another suggestion - that there be an option to not repeat tracks (I know one can create stations that are less likely to repeat and that there is a limit to the selections which will satisfy a stations parameters and not repeat.. perhaps params could be loosened progressively as play choices are exhasted).

- Brooke

Hey Brooke - I just sent you a personal email, but here's a couple main points, in case others are interested:

- It isn't possible to remove a "Zzz" request; you'll just have to wait out the 30 days...sorry!

- I know, our FAQ is really big! You can always search the content of the FAQ using keywords if you like. Just click the Control key and then the letter "F" on your keyboard and search the FAQ page by keyword that way; I've found that very useful.

- You can always go here http://blog.pandora.com/faq/index.html#88 in our FAQ for help tuning your Pandora stations.

Cheers, Lucia

This is my station based off all those great tracks featured on Vietnam War movies. I am really pleased with how it displays a strong theme and sticks close to it, yet still covers a range of styles, rock, soul, reggae, psychedelia..

Hanoi Hannah
http://www.pandora.com/stations/3802307b69d08cdefe9772b0116134710ccdcb7a9d58b2d0

I have only been honing my Scandanavian/Black/Speed metal station "rainbow apocalypse" for a little over a week now. All I can say is, Pandora alone is responsible for my last 2 CD purchases.

I have learned so much about so many great artists that I had either ignored or never discovered before. Being able to experience music I hadn't before makes me feel like I'm getting brought into the loop again.

The backstage stuff is fantastic.

Thanks much for your replys, Lucia.

I have found that one can change a Zzz to another rating (thumbs up, in my case) if the track is still showing in the player/browser.

I have also found that there is a Zzz limit, which I hadn't notice mention of. Though the player says it will act as per a Zzz, the rack continues as before.

hey, pandora.com is perfect. It founds nearly all bands that i know. i am from germany. i'll try to make it a bit more popular. well.done. please take to ur equitment more bands form other countries like finnland or germany^^, but all in all *cheers*....(enjoy)

The Zzz implementation doesn't often function as intended...

Example in my Nels Cline Singers Station: Andy Summers - The X Tracks - Big Thing

How many tracks are viewable in a staton's scrollable play history? Mine gets jittery and useless after a bit.

Im happy for this new option in miusic.
congratulations and come in.

What a fabulous station. Your music is the very best I've ever listened to. Now if only I could get you on my car radio. I guess what I could do is burn a CD and just play it.

Thank you so very much for putting on EXACTLY what tons of us out here are wishing to hear.

Cathy

I love this having music while I play mahjong solitaire, but I seem to have lost my previous artists and songs, my previous profile. How do I find it?

I've found artist seeds work pretty well for me. I have a handful of stations based on 1 or 2 artists (Black Keys + RL Burnside, Beastie Boys, Soundgarden, Rancid) that I listen to via QuickMix.
I'm hearing a lot of new stuff that fits my varied tastes, and only occasionally a thumbs-down!

If you are into Melodic Hard Rock, Hair Metal, Power Metal - you'll probably like this station:
http://www.pandora.com/stations/241b69eeb431e2a86957f77a30be7e11425ba2910f7abf8b

It features catchy hook lines, crisp guitars and bombastic keyboard sounds. Think of songs like Van Halen's "Jump" or Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and bands/artists like Def Leppard, Europe, Queen, Bon Jovi or Meat Loaf.

i just went to an Atari's concert last night and one of the opening bands was "Blackpool Lights". loved them! can you add them on their station. don't know if they have much music out, but there worth looking into.

While I have quite a few stations, I most often listen to the "Beat Disco" station which is perfect for party music. Try it at http://www.pandora.com/stations/cf406a8840b14ea648d34c71f5ae5e7b3a5582c0cdf59754

I have actively refined it for many months with a selection of seed titles - and a lot of thumbs-Up's and thumbs-Down's.
It will give you a wide variety of solemn electronica, brilliant dance tunes, feather-light europop and then some!

NOTE:
A curious occurrence took place today: The SAME title was played *TWICE* in a row - with different rationale given in "Why did you play this song?" for each of them!!

See screenshot at http://www.testudo.cc/Pics/Pandora-2x-same-title.jpg

Ian Van Dahl's "Inspiration" was first played from album "Best of Hits, Vol 2: Dance" with rationale:
"....because it features: House roots, a female vocal, use of tonal harmonies, a tight kick sound and a highly sybthetic sonority."

This was immediately followed by THE SAME TITLE, this time from Ian Van Dahl's album "Lost & Found". Now the rationale was:
"....because it features: House roots, disco influences, a female vocal, use of tonal harmonies and prevalent use of groove."

Probably these titles were entered into the database by two separate persons in Pandora's staff and they marked the song somewhat differently. This is all very human - but an interesting 'glitch' anyway.
One would have expected a duplicate title/artist being noticed by the database software... :-)

I would like to have my favorite song, that is ROCK A BYE YOUR BABE WITH A DIXIE MELODY by ARETHA FRANKLIN.
How can I have this present???? Thank you.

I love the "Show all" on the station profile but isn't the most logical addition a "play all" that will play all the clips?