Slacker Radio for Android review: Slacker is the consummate overachiever

The latest version of Slacker Radio for Android reflects the company's newly refreshed brand. Now, the app is outfitted with bright colors, more white space, and a tiled dashboard that looks very much like Windows 8's Metro interface.

At first glance, Slacker Radio might seem like another Pandora wannabe, with its ability to algorithmically generate playlists and its rating system for improving stations. But upon further inspection, it is easy to see that this streaming music service offers quite a bit more than its competitors. To use Slacker you must sign up for an account or log in with your Facebook credentials.

As with similar radio apps, Slacker lets you create a uniquely programmed radio station based on an artist, track, or album. As you listen, you can improve the programming by voting tracks up or down, or by editing a station's settings one by one. The Edit menu lets you calibrate your stations based on factors like popularity and release date, or by adding different artists and tracks to affect the algorithm. It also lets you adjust how many similar artists you'd like the app to add to your station. Altogether, these settings make Slacker's programmed radio exceptionally customizable. What's more, as you listen, you can view album art, reviews, bios, and lyrics. You can even share a link to a station via e-mail, text message, or Twitter.

But more than just a Pandora-like radio programmer, Slacker also includes one of the most impressive selections of curated stations I've seen. Top 40, '90s, and a wealth of your typical genre-based stations are all there. In addition, you get live local ESPN Radio options, ABC lifestyle stations, and almost 30 stations that are actually curated by artists. These artist curators aren't quite A-list, but many of them are popular, and their stations are interesting nonetheless. It's this unique mix of curated stations that sets Slacker apart from its competitors.

While Slacker's free service is certainly enjoyable, there is a lot more fun to be had behind the premium-account pay wall. The mid-tier paid account ($3.99 per month) gives you unlimited song skips and lets you cache large portions of stations to your device for listening while offline. Meanwhile, the highest tier, Slacker Premium Radio ($9.99 per month), takes listening to another level by adding unlimited, on-demand song play, similar to what Spotify offers. The price tag for Premium may seem high, but keep in mind that these subscribers can search for specific songs or albums and play them in their entirety or add them to a playlist. This ultimate combination of on-demand, curated, and algorithm-programmed radio makes for a uniquely rich listening experience while on the go.

And of course, all paid subscribers get an ad-free listening experience. Meanwhile, free users have to deal with interstitial video and audio ads, and banner ads, which together can get pretty intrusive. Still, Slacker Radio, as a whole, offers enough bells and whistles to make up for its eyesores.