The other new features are quite nice, too. For one, every artist now has a concert listing, so you can get a quick overview of both the artist's material and when/where they are performing. In addition to that, your dashboard will record what concerts you want to go to, and show reminders. This seems rather silly to me (how could you forget a date to see your favorite band?) but maybe it's for the shows your friend makes you come along to.

Another new toy you can tinker with is a music compatibility rating. This may sound like Last.fm meets Match.com, but it's fun to make your friends sign up and see how you two match up. If music means a lot to you, it's a great way to meet new people as well - you're guaranteed to have something to talk about right off the bat.

Last but not least, they are also starting to offer free music downloads at their site. This is another feature they have over LAUNCHCast. While the Yahoo! service does offer downloads, they are $.99/each. The ones you get with the monthly/yearly subscription expire when the subscription does, which is a large annoyance to me. Good news is, the Last.fm downloads are completely free and never expire. You do have to do a bit of hunting to find them (don't expect to find U2's latest single) but they are working on a way to make them easier to find as we speak.

Overall, my impression is the same I had when I stumbled across Last.fm - wonderful idea, exactly what I want, and I can't wait until the bugs are knocked out. Until then, your experience will be positive, but likely rocky.

If you just want to hear music, and don't care if you're getting the full sound, LAUNCHCast is probably your best bet. It "just works". However, if you're more selective both about what music you hear, and how you hear it (i.e. you don't want half the sound ripped out before it even gets to your speakers/headphones) Last.fm is your best bet, by far. I'm quite sure the bugs in the system will die a quick death.