dotmusic.com

I only ever visit two music sites on the internet : dotmusic and worldpop. Since Ciao seem to have neglected worldpop.com, even though it is the official sponsor of the UK singles charts!! *nudges ciao fat cats to sort themselves out :)* So anyway, onto the wonderfully simplistic and enjoyable experience that is visiting the dotmusic website. Hailed as the most popular music website in Europe, it isn't hard to see why, especially since it has been re-vamped with a cooler and ultimately easier to navigate layout. The slogan which immediately greets you alongside the dotmusic logo is "What's your sound? Your complete music site on the net", and this claim doesn't disappoint, with reading matter for all corners of the music world, from pop, dance, indie, hip hop RnB and Rock.

I have to admit that I use worldpop for looking at every-day news, but this is a personal idiosyncrasy and not done because dotmusic's news section is bad in any way. The latest news is showcased on the opening page with all the biggest music headlines from around the world. This section sometimes toots dotmusic's own horn by advertising a latest interview they've managed to scoop or something along those lines. Underneath these we again see the attention given to all corners of the musical spectrum by advertising the latest features and news in your chosen genre. To explore the site more, it's easy. Simply click one one of the several links on the left hand side of the front page and soak up the musical goodness!

The feature I regularly use is the charts section. If theres anything you should know about me it is that I am shamelessly addicted to all things chart related and could reel off any useless morsel of chart information at the drop of a hat. How useful then that dotmusic has the top 75 singles and album charts, the top 20 albums and singles of the year, a detailed singles chart commentary which I always read, not to mention the more than 10 specialist charts including indie, jazz and blues. Perfect for the chart boffin like myself! You can even subscribe to have the charts emailed to you every week if you so desired.

Next to mull over is the artists section, where you can search for your favourite artists and read all about them in their biographies and the latest news tit-bits involving them. obviously you'll find more to read about Hear'say than Pantera, but most bands or acts with a modicum of success are featured.

Next is the reviews section, a subject that is most likely close to most of our hearts, since we do it every day here on ciao! Hopefully one of the dotmusic team will search out one of my music reviews and thrust me into the musical journalistic limelight. I can dream can't I! All the latest singles, albums and the all important live gigs are reviewed by the sometime biased writers. They often disparage pop music as mindless crap when they really miss the whole point of its existence ; yes, to bring happiness to lots of people, not to annoy the hell out of you! Also featured is the pick of next weeks releases and a full release schedule for the next few weeks.

The final few features have less to be said so I'll summarise them in a paragraph or two. We have "new music" and "live" sections, which are basically self explanatory. All the latest music is reviewed and is basically a repetition of other sections, while the live area has forthcoming webchats and webcasts, and is presumably where you take part in live webchats, which often include some pretty popular artists. There is also a competition section which again explains itself really.

The community spirit on dotmusic is extremely good, with chat rooms, discussion forums and the opportunity to email dotmusic about anything you want to know. There is also a "Pop quiz" game where you play as a stereotyped character (such as Britney and Marilyn Manson) and answer, in my view, extremely difficult questions. You'll never reach anywhere near the top scores to win any prizes but its a laugh if you're bored in any case. The dotmusic shop is also very useful, selling chart CDs for, on average, a tenner, which saves you around £3 on regular retail prices (unless you're cunning and shop for your CDs in Sainsburys!). You can also buy concert tickets, DVDs and VHS as well as mobile phone ring tones and logos.

So overall its a bit of a jam packed site, enough to keep you occupied for a good hour or so, or just for a quick glance every now and again. If you like to keep up to date with all the music goings on, then this is the site for you. Designed in lots of funky illuminous colours and written no doubt by lots of young struggling journalists, the writing is often witty and to the point. It has as many if not more features than any other music site on the web. It is definitely justified when it dubs itself the complete music site, and might as well be called the font of all musical wisdom. Check it out.