Pandora and Spotify are arguably the most popular streaming music platforms in the world, but neither are available in Canada, thus highlighting alternative apps and services that personalize music to your tastes to make it easier to discover new songs and artists that you might not have otherwise known about.

To some degree, services like Rdio, Deezer, Slacker and Music Unlimited already offer something along these lines, what with their social networking features and predictive music discovery features. Being subscription-based, they all require a monthly commitment, but they offer a massive catalog to be streamed on multiple devices.

Even Apple’s iTunes Music Store has the “Genius” feature that predicts and suggests songs you might be interested in based on whatever you’re playing at that moment. And the new iTunes Radio (not available in Canada yet) will also do the same.

Internet radio apps like TuneIn, 8tracks, Internet Radio Box, Livio and ooTunes essentially bring a world of music to your fingertips. Radio stations from all parts of the planet are at your disposal, adding an extra layer of music discovery that transcends genre, language and culture.

All of these apps and services are excellent, making it easier than ever to listen to anything you want, while also finding out new music to add to your library. There are a few that are free to use, and a bit more specific in how they stream.

Songza
iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone

Songza has changed a great deal from its original premise, which just pulled in audio from videos posted online. Now, it streams entire playlists covering a pretty wide range of genres and styles, all on-demand. Choosing a playlist based on time of day or what you might be doing is a novel concept and one that usually works well. You can’t choose individual songs or artists to play, but the fact that playlists are fairly extensive all but guarantees that you will discover something new.

Jango Radio
iOS, Android

It may not be quite as popular, but Jango is a true gem. It’s totally free to use, has few ads and can stream music from your own created stations. Choose an artist, and Jango will create a station based on similar artists. You can customize how wide the spectrum goes in terms of number of artists and songs, so as to avoid any repetition. Between popular artists, the app will throw in indie artists as well.

Soundtracker Radio
iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone

Very similar in concept to Jango, Soundtracker lets you choose an artist and then have a station automatically created for you. You can see lyrics, bios and share what you’re listening to via social networking sites. Aside from your own created stations, you have the option of listening to those made by friends, or “trendy” and “suggested” stations that users have made public. Whatever you choose, there’s tons of music available to you here.

These three aren’t the only ones, given that there are plenty with more specific focuses. Some of these are for indie music, while others might focus only on what DJs around the world are doing. Either way, the bevy of music available at no cost to you is astonishing when you start using multiple apps. Give some of these a chance and you may be more than a little impressed at how much wider your musical tastes might grow.