It should go without saying that there's no possibility of including all the cool music-related iPhone applications in a list of a mere ten. Your role in this feature, dear reader, is to civilly flame us in the comments over which apps we neglected to include here. The bottom line is, no matter whether you love to listen to music, make it, or whether you're like us and sometimes just need to know what the name of that frakking song is, it's a good time to be an iPhone (or iPod touch!) user. Break on through to the other side for ten music-related applications worth installing.

Music discovery

10. last.fm

If you're already a fan of the last.fm online social music service, then this iPhone-flavored version will be a no brainer. Access to many of the standard last.fm personalized streaming features are available via the free app's easy to use interface that also provides access to artist bios and info, similar artists, events, your own profile and the ability to love/ban/skip the tracks you're streaming, which all get scrobbled to your profile as well.

Get it: Last.fm app, free

 

9. Pandora

Another excellent music discovery service, Pandora generates personalized radio stations for you based on favorite artists or songs you seed it with. Pandora makes use of an extensive database of expert analysis dubbed The Music Genome Project to identify similar music based on hundreds of attributes identified within the music itself. Using the free app you can generate new stations, listen to existing stations you've created if you already have a Pandora account, see artist info and browse through played tracks in coverflow mode.

Get it: Pandora app, free

 

Music identification

8. Shazam

We've all been there: you start listening to the best song you've never heard before just after the DJ announced what its name is, or you're suddenly afflicted with "can't remember the stupid song name" syndrome at a critical social juncture. Two great iPhone apps solve this type of problem to different degrees; with Shazam, you hold the iPhone up to a speaker or other music source after tapping the "Tag Now" button prompting the app to "listen." With surprisingly remarkable accuracy and speed, after about 10 seconds of audio capture the app identifies the track you're listening to and gives you the option to purchase it on the iTunes Store or watch any associated YouTube videos, if available. You can also take and attach a photo to the song you've "tagged" and/or send it to a friend.

Get it: Shazam app, free

 

7. Midomi

Midomi, like Shazam, will identify tracks you're currently listening to — but includes a few additional features for music identification including the ability to sing or speak in parts of songs or perform a text search. This goes the extra mile of solving that nagging problem of having a song stuck in your head whose title or artist you can't quite place. As with Shazam, the results are usually quick and surprisingly accurate, though we've found it tends to depend a lot on how obscure the track is and, for Midomi, being able to recall a long enough passage or subset of the lyrics to give the app enough to base an identification from; some songs occasionally escape an identification. For the most part though, both apps are quite accurate and offer similar features, with Midomi edging out Shazam by adding the ability to sing or hum in a tune as well as to play back a clip of the identified track to verify the app's analysis was correct.

Get it: Midomi app, free

 

Music making

6. Bloom

No matter what your level of musicianship, the Bloom application from ambient music luminary Brian Eno and software designer Peter Chilvers will have you creating on-the-fly compositions that effortlessly Just Sound Good in no time. Based on a system dubbed "generative music" coined by Eno, Bloom loops and evolves notes and patterns played on its multicolored screen with your fingers. The result is usually surprisingly pleasant sounding and soothing music that's simple to create yet sounds complex and mysterious.

Get it: Bloom app, $3.99

 

5. Zoozbeat

We had a chance to check out ZoozBeat at CES and were impressed with this gesture-based music studio. Like Bloom, the app is simple enough that non-musicians can use it to make loop-based soundscapes in several styles that manage to Just Sound Good. ZoozBeat makes use of the accelerometer to make shaking and tilting of the phone itself a viable input method, adding a unique spatial dimension to music creation. You can sample your own voice, save and load your creations, and use landscape mode to enter notes in a lightweight arrangement tool as well.

Get it: ZoozBeat full app, $2.99 or ZoozBeat Lite, $0.99

 

4. Ocarina

Yet another simple to use yet compelling music app, Ocarina is essentially a software instrument version of the ancient, flute-like wind instrument of the same name. Sensitive to your breath, touch and movements, you compose reedy riffs by tapping the "holes" with your fingers and blowing into the iPhone's microphone. Ocarina is also a unique social application; tap the globe icon to hear other Ocarina players from all over the world, and record your own melodies to share with friends -- all for less than a dollar.

Get it: Ocarina app, $0.99

 

3. RjDj

RjDj is a kooky app. It explores a type of music creation best described as interactive or "reactive," in which the sound you hear is being influenced in realtime by your environment and the sensory input you feed to the app. Instead of "tracks" playing from beginning to end you enter "scenes" or soundscapes that react to inputs coming from the microphone or the accelerometer, making you as the "listener" an integral part of the music you're hearing. As the developers put it, you may be in for some "mind twisting hearing sensations" from RjDj which simply has to be tried to be appreciated.

Get it: RjDj album, $2.99 or RjDj single, free

 

2. Band

In the realm of more traditional music-making apps, Band offers a collection of virtual instruments including piano, electric guitar, bass and drums for play and recording. Multitouch support lets you play chords in real-time, and studio staples such as volume, panning, muting, soloing and a metronome are included to help you create multi-layered mixes all from the comforts of your phone.

Get it: Band app, $3.99

 

1. BeatMaker

By far the most expensive application on this list, the incredible featureset of Intua's BeatMaker makes it worth consideration for iPhone-toting composers, producers and serious hobbyists. We've waxed poetic about BeatMaker in a previous edition of The Daily Obsession, and its position at number 1 on this list is thanks to a robust set of features making this app the closest thing to a full-on music production center this side of a cellular carrier. Inspired by software sequencers and loop samplers, BeatMaker's built-in drum machine, sampler effects processor and sequencer allow you to work up impressive loop and sample-based compositions you can save, export as AIFF or WAV files or share over Wi-Fi. Compared to most iPhone apps this one is certainly premium priced, but to have this kind of composition power in the literal palm of your hand is nevertheless, to invoke ye olde MasterCard yarn, priceless.

Get it: BeatMaker app, $19.99