Like most, I’ve developed a morning routine. After hitting my snooze two, maybe three times, I stumble out of bed, grab my coffee and take a seat at my computer. Before I can officially start the day, I must find the appropriate playlist that corresponds with my constantly fluctuating mood. More often than not, I catch myself blankly staring at the screen. Although my iTunes reads that I have 6,793 songs to choose from, there is nothing that catches my eye. Luckily, in situations such as these, I have a backup plan.

Two years ago I created an account with Pandora.com, a free online radio station that plays uninterrupted music. Actually, my brother hooked me up with an account after my endless requests for new artists had driven him up the wall. While commercial-free radio is a gift in itself, the primary purpose of Pandora is to help its users discover new music based on their current likes and dislikes.

“The beauty of Pandora is that you can create your own stations based on different artists and genres, so it is infinitely adaptable to the audiences’ tastes and moods,” said Erik Ugland, assistant professor of broadcast and electronic communication. “This is the kind of feature that over-the-air broadcasters can’t touch right now.”

After creating an account, users can make personalized stations that reflect their favorite artists and songs. Whether you’re into rap, country, metal or rock, Pandora will find you new songs with a similar sound. Once users create their station, they can narrow down their tastes by checking whether they like or dislike the song that Pandora suggested.

“As a first-time user of Pandora, I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” said Michelle Scaperlanda, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. “But, it was really self-explanatory and easy to use, which was nice. Beyond the fact that it was user friendly, it also helped me find new artists and reintroduced me to old artists that I had forgotten about.”

So here is the real question, how does it work? When Pandora established itself in 2000, it was advertised as being a part of the Music Genome Project, which, according to its Web site, is “the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.” Basically, a group of musicians and technologists deconstructed songs based on melody, instrumentation, singing and rhythm. These “genes” are put into a “Music Genome” which is accessed by users across the globe on a daily basis.

While everything sounds great in theory, there are a few downsides to Pandora that become clear after its repeated use. One problem I’ve faced is repetition. Just because I marked that I liked the song does not mean I want to hear it every single time I log into my account. Eventually, I’m forced to request that Pandora never play that song again on my station, and music that I originally enjoyed becomes unbearable.

Jack Bower, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that a lot of the time the suggestions offered by Pandora are not what he is looking for, and he never really knows what to expect. For Bower, the station should try and get a better handle for the “feel” of each individual song, he said.

As Pandora increases in popularity, we witness the rest of the broadcasting community upping its game to compete with commercial-free radio. Apple felt the threat, and with its latest version of iTunes added the “Genius” sidebar, which creates playlists from songs in your library and recommends new music to accompany your tunes.

“The traditional broadcasters certainly have one significant advantage right now: portability,” Ugland said. “The ubiquitous nature of broadcasting makes it possible to listen to those stations while on the go, commuting to work or roaming in places where you don’t have a computer or Internet connection. That will start to change as wireless online bandwidth expands.”

Aware of its expansion options, Pandora is now available through the iPod touch and the iPhone, taking its first steps toward portability. With the accessibility of Internet radio increasing, it is safe to say that Ugland was right when he said, “radio’s future is on the Internet.”