The Sixtyone: Music Website Review

thesixtyone is a music website that has made it their mission to bring democracy to the culture of music; by letting the people control the music. On this website authors of music are encouraged to upload their music - for free. This allows the world to listen and make the decision...are they good...will it sell? No longer is success in the hands of a handful of people! You can download much of the music for free as well as purchase downloads of their music for listening on your PC or mp3 players.

The name derived from the old Highway 61; a 1400 mile highway that originally ran from New Orleans to the US-Canadian border at Grand Portage, Minnesota. The 61 was a great part of music history. According to the experts at thesixtyone, music greats like B.B. King and Ike Turner rode this highway, selling their songs, as did the great Muddy Waters. You can hear Bob Dylan sing of the 61 in his song "Highway 61 Revisited". Elvis Presley grew up along the 61. Just like Route 66, Highway 61 was an important highway, linking the southern states to the mid-west.

At thesixtyone you can listen to the music of new, undiscovered artists and be an important part of promoting their musical careers. The website is built on a gaming platform which allows interaction between listeners as well as artists. Create an account and earn points by "bumping" new songs. The more bumps a song receives, the faster it will move to the front page, encouraging more exposure for the artists as well as earning bigger points for the player. Earn badges, points and friendships all while listening to great music...free. After you bump a song, you receive payback points for all that follow you. The more popular a song is, the more points you earn. Many of the songs are available for free download as well.

I must warn you though, play here is addictive, and you will broaden your exposure to music. You will make all of your friends envious when you pop a CD in the player and the room is filled with great sounds like those of YOUR VEGAS This band that hails from a little town outside of Leeds is one of this author's personal favorites. Why in the world would a band from Leeds chose the name YOUR VEGAS? Guess you have to visit the web site to see for yourself.

If you are more into alternative sounds, check out MGMT , a self-proclaimed psychedelic synthetic pop group from Brooklyn, New York.

If country/folk is more to your liking, listen to Melle Augustine. Born in South Carolina at the foot of the Appalachian's, she delivers in a rich voice, songs of love and life that relate to us all. This green eyed beauty has a voice that will carry her to the top of the charts. She sings of home in her song Blue Ridge.

Feel the sexy voice of RAVEN PARQUE's Adrian Le Monde is his song Boys Don't Cry. (oh, yes, my favorite)

Musicians and listeners alike are welcome at thesixtyone. If you are looking for your big break, well, this just might be it, so don't waste any more time. Needless to say, the selections are endless, and because of the rising popularity of the site, the list grows every day. New artists and songs are added daily.

You may click on any of the categories listed below to check out what's going on today. You don't have to register to listen, but you do need to register to play the game. Either way, it's good fun!

Alternative

Blues

Classical

Country

Dance

Electronic

Experimental

Folk

Hip-hop

Instrumental

Jazz

Pop

R&B

Reggae

Rock

Vocal