8 Best Free Music Apps for the iPhone

Sure, the best thing about the iPhone is that it's an 8- or 16-gig iPod Touch. But when Apple rolled out the 3G and opened up its platform to outside developers, iPhone users started getting more and more benefits each day, especially with last week's release from SimplifyMedia. Here are the 8 Best Free Music Apps for the iPhone:

8. Tap Tap Revenge
Like a very lite version of Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution, tap your screen along with the beat.


7. Kazoo
It almost seems obvious now that the kazoo would be the perfect instrument to play on your iPhone, but give credit to Chudigi Software for simple Do Re Me fun.


6. AOL Radio
I haven't figured out a way to play PasteRadio on my iPhone yet, but AOL Radio offers 200 stations, including all-Clash and all-Radiohead streams.


5. Shazam
Frustrated by that radio station that refuses to ID the song you just fell in love with? Let Shazam listen to 10 seconds, and it'll give you artists, title and even a link to purchase. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be very adept at identifying indie music.


4. Pandora Radio
Pandora takes its music discovery expertise to the iPhone without really adding much extra.


3. Last.FM
Last.FM nudges out Pandora in portable music exploration with its feature-rich app that includes a quick search for similar artists, artist bios and a tour calendar.


2. Midomi
Like Shazam, Midomi helps you identify songs, but in addition to holding your iPhone up to the speakers, you can also sing, recite lyrics or even hum a melody. This was particularly helpful when a friend asked me to identify a Fratellis song by its musical hook. Results include artist and album info and buy links.


1. Simplify Media
This is by far the coolest app I've downloaded on the iPhone, music-related or otherwise. SimplifyMedia allows you to access your iTunes from anywhere, as long your computer is connected to the Internet. No longer are you limited to 8 or 16 gigs of music. And if your computer isn't online, you can also access playlists from up to 30 of your friends. If that's not good enough for you, it also pulls up artist info and song lyrics. My only complaints are that it can take a little time to buffer and, unlike the iPod function, the music cuts off as soon as you leave the app to do something else on the phone.