Stand by Your Twang

At least five sites can help

(NEWSER) - Sure, you can listen to the hundreds of gigs of music you have on your computer—but why limit yourself? Mashable lists the top Web sites and applications to help you really utilize your audio library:

• Last.fm: One of the Web’s most popular music social networks, the site’s best feature is Scrobbler, which analyzes your listening habits and gives you recommendations based on your own tastes.

Teen trades his Apple for a Sony for 1 week

(NEWSER) - In honor of the debut 30 years ago this week of the Sony Walkman, 13-year old Scott Campbell tried using the device for a week in place of his iPod. Campbell found the gadget took some getting used to, he writes for the BBC: “It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape." More»

(NEWSER) - Tim McGraw has a message for fans regarding his new greatest hits album: I'm sorry. McGraw issued a statement today ripping into his label, Curb Records, for releasing Greatest Hits 3 only 2 years after Greatest Hits 2, CMT reports. The country star says he had nothing to do with it and would have preferred to release a new studio album. The move, he says, is part of a ploy by Curb to delay his plans of jumping ship. More»

Seemingly obsolete, format is seeing increasing—even 'unbelievable'—sales

(NEWSER) - It might seem unlikely in an age where the CD’s obituary has already been written, but vinyl records are making a comeback as younger fans fall for the big artwork and warm analog sounds, the Boston Globe reports. Music stores report big yearly sales increases, and big-box stores like Best Buy are stocking new-age turntables and their accessories. More»

Backwoods Barbie hits No. 2, gives an iconic career new life

(NEWSER) - More than a decade after Nashville spurned her for a crop of up-and-comers, Dolly Parton is releasing a new album on her own label--and having the last laugh, as Backwoods Barbie hit Billboard's No. 2 on Billboard in its second week. That's thanks to new technologies that are creating end-run opportunities around major labels. “Now the majors are what they used to think I was: history,” the 62-year-old singer told the AP. More»