FastCustomer – Forget about those long minutes on the phone, waiting for a customer service representative to pick up on the other end and help you out. FastCustomer is a pain killer mobile app that takes out the hold from calling companies.

FastCustomer offers a free, 1-click process by which the company’s customer service rep calls you, not the other way around (the app has over 1600 companies in its database). This way you are ridden of the costly and annoying hassle of waiting for an actual person to talk to you. In addition, the app automatically saves these calls on your mobile’s recent calls list for simple future use.

What I like about this free app, aside from its obvious anger elimination aspect, is that it helps the companies you’re trying to reach in the first place, as well. Happier customers are better and more loyal customers. It’s a win-win situation. Available for the iPhone and Android devices.

Pixlr – For those of you working in the graphic design and photography fields, Pixlr is a bliss. The company calls itself “an online cloud-based image tools and utilities” provider serving “both non-professionals and professional users with editing needs…”

Pixlr offers a wide collection of services, all centered around photo editing including the classic photo editor, and the Pixlr-O-Matic Facebook app that turns your Facebook photos into retro snaps. These are but two features Pixlr offers. Finally there’s a free alternative to the costly Photoshop software (although limited in features compared to the latter).

TuneIn – Everybody has a favorite radio station. Some of us like to listen to it while driving to or from work, others enjoy tuning in while at the office. Regardless of your favorite radio station, TuneIn offers better station finding and listening, whether online or on the go.

Aside from finding you the local radio stations by your physical location (via computer IP address), TuneIn introduces you to over 50,000 stations from all over the world, based on your chosen genre and favorite artists. I’m a huge blues and Muddy Waters fan, and here’s what TuneIn found me based on my music preferences:

The sound quality TuneIn offers is superb compared to the average radio station online, and the discovery aspect of this cool site is priceless. The TuneIn mobile app is a must-have if you like listening to radio, and you can use it while you’re driving, as long as you keep your two hands on the wheel -simply set your radio station’s play when you get into your car and you’re all set for the entire drive.

The TuneIn mobile app also invites you to follow favorite DJs and find new music based on favorite songs and artists. The best part about the app however, is the cross-device station preset option which means guaranteed good listening. The app is available for the iPhone, Android, Palm, Blackberry, Samsung Bada, Windows Phone, and for these home devices: Google TV, Yahoo TV, Roku and WDTV.

SoundTracking – Although currently available for iOS 4 devices only, this music app tries to offer an all-in-one bundle based on the music soundtrack of your daily life -the tunes that add a splash of color to your routine. SoundTracking comes with a built-in music ID feature, which is the standalone product of many music apps out there (such as Shazam and SoundHound). But SoundTracking doesn’t stop there. The app includes geo-tagging music snippets and sharing these with your friends along with a photo of the track’s artist or album.

Want more? SoundTracking lets you check in to Foursquare when you post a soundtrack with a location, and you in turn can follow friends’ location based on their tagged songs and check ins. SoundTracking is ideal for the iPhone users who love sharing in general, and sharing what they’re doing and what they’re listening to in particular. This app is free which is, considering all the perks it offers, surprising to say the least. In other words, go ahead and download this wicked app ASAP while it’s free.

Designers.MX – The concept of this divine site is simple: it’s where creative designers share the music that keeps them going. Designers.MX is not just about superb playlists, it’s also about large doses of creative inspirations and revelations.

Although all entries on Designers.MX are inspiring, I suggest starting with the Popular section for guaranteed sweet music. Each playlist comes with a ‘built-in’ player so you can start listening instantly and enjoy the tunes that fuel industry professionals. I particularly enjoyed Kick the Day Off Right by Daniel Waldron. Click the screenshot below to get to Daniel’s playlist.

TestQ – This well of knowledge and career quiz site is brought to us by Monster, the job search company. TestQ is packed with various quizzes that help you make better decisions, see what career fields suit you best, and it can even help you decide what to major in at college.

Although the idea of having a website dedicated to quizzes might constitute a huge turnoff to some, scratching beneath TestQ’s surface reveals a most valuable job and career resource worth exploring every now and then. I actually found that I liked taking quizzes… My personal favorite here was What Motivates You?

NoiseTrade – What a sweet music site that offers a helping hand to both artists and music fans! NoiseTrade offers artists a sexy and practical web spot for them to showcase their music, and fans can listen to the music and even download entire albums for free! The sound quality is amazing, which is an added bonus and a valuable part of the NoiseTrade bundle.

Artists are welcome to sign up and set up their page, even create their own widget which can be added to any online venue they may have. Fans don’t sign up -they simply start enjoying the great music on NoiseTrade instantly. Here’s the page of The Vespers, one of the most downloaded artists here on NoiseTrade. Listen to them and you’ll see why!

Proust – For those of you unfamiliar with Marcel Proust, the man after which this website is called, here’s the gist: This 19-century French novelist is most famous for his work In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927), where the main character, while having a pleasant visit at a relative’s house, is taken aback by a powerful moment of involuntary memory -his childhood- and goes through a strong emotional experience, all as a result of the Madeleine cookie’s taste in his mouth. Proust the website plays on the same family moments theme and offers an easy platform to create, document and share family memories.

Sign up to Proust.com and start creating your story. The system will ask you a few questions to get you started, and from then on you can share these, send questions to family members and see where the story takes you and your family. Here’s Tom’s story as an example. To learn more about Proust.com watch the video below.

The Web offers hundreds of top quality sites where you can both listen to and discover new music and artists. Pandora and Grooveshark might be the most famous ones everyone is familiar with, but there are many other sites that offer great music for free you might not be aware of. Here’s my top 10 list of sites that offer free music streaming and music discovery.

1. Stereomood – This is by far my #1 music site. Stereomood is a free playlist-ready music streaming place that invites you to explore exquisite tracks based on the mood you’re in. The homepage is made up of a big tag cloud of moods for you to choose from; calm, happy, sleepy, lonely and in love are only a number of the vast mood options available. Once you pick a mood, a ready-made playlist appears and will start to play. You can also share each of the songs of each playlist on a variety of social networks. Beautiful design and perfect sound make Stereomood my top music choice.

2. Blip.fm – Built in the form of a Twitter-like micro-blogging service for music, Blip.fm is open to users from all over the world (as opposed to location-restricted sites) and puts a special focus on music discovery and social interaction. The homepage is essentially a feed list of ‘blips’ other users have submitted, and you can go right ahead and start blipping yourself. Simply search for your favorite artist or song and blip. You can create your own playlists, give ‘DJ props’ to users (Blip.fm’s “Like” equivalent), and follow favorite DJs.

3. The Sixty One – This music site is the most stylish one in the list, merging great music with gorgeous visuals and atmosphere. The interface of The Sixty One is unlike any other music site you’ve seen before. Each page represents a different artist and includes a full screen picture of the singer/band and automatically plays one of their songs. You can learn more about the artist by exploring the info box on the right (offering the artist’s website, recorded music and upcoming shows). Browse the artists on The Sixty One by simply clicking the right/left arrows and discover even more great music. The screen shot below is of Kori Pop.

4. Jelli – This music site has a special twist. It’s an online radio site (exclusively online), where registered users decide on the radio’s playlists -100% user-controlled radio. Each of Jelli’s channels (Red, Green and Orange, each representing a different range of music styles) is made up of a long list of standby tracks users can vote for (by clicking the V button) or against (by clicking the X). Returning users are equipped with heavier ammunition: rockets and bombs to vote for or against a selected track, respectively. In short, this site is about listening to great music, and having a hell of a time along the way.

5. Mixcloud – If you’re already familiar with the concept of podcasts you will appreciate this music site. Mixcloud is based upon the same podcast idea, and it contains a wealth of music styles and DJs for you to follow, listen to and subscribe to. In addition to the variety of music genres, you can also explore other channels including business, comedy, culture, education, news and more. Think of it as NPR’s first cousin.

6. 22tracks – This attractive music site offers free music streaming of 22 different music genres, each with a playlist of -you guest it- 22 tracks. The sound quality is amazing and you are invited to create a playlist with your favorites, and also share each of them with your social network friends. This is one of my favorite sites for music discovery, especially since all the tracks on this site are carefully curated by 22tracks’ team of professional DJs.

7. 8tracks – This Web radio service is totally free, and it offers creating, sharing and listening to user-created playlists, each comprising of eight tracks. The idea is simple and using the site is super easy and fun. Thanks to 8tracks you will undoubtedly explore new artists you haven’t listened to before. Here’s what the Jazz category looks like on 8tracks.

8. One Track Mind – Although this music blog is not a high-profile music site as the other big fish I mentioned above are, it offers a valuable service you should check out if you’re looking to increase your music repertoire. One Track Mind is the place for “music discovery, one track at a time.” The added bonus is you can listen to full tracks of new and recent releases, and download them (100% legal!) as mp3.

9. Hitlantis – I just love the innovative concept of this music discovery site. Instead of browsing lists of artists and songs, Hitlantis offers a visual experience where lots of bubbles are neatly organized by color. Each color region represents a different music genre (consult the legend on the homepage), and each bubble within that color area represents a certain artist or band. Simply click on a bubble and a mini player window will appear, offering additional info about the artist, and also showing what the user community thinks about that artist. This is a great out-of-the-box way to explore new music.

10. Music MiniFaves page on All My Faves – This fully-booked MiniFaves page offers all of the top resources I have mentioned above plus many others worth checking out. In addition to the best music streaming places you can find online, the Music MiniFaves offers top music news and magazine sites for you to explore as well as other music perks such as lyrics finders and much more.

UsingMiles – If you’re a frequent flyer, you probably have multiple accounts in different companies by which you earn program miles and awards. Although all of these keep you up to date with your latest balance, special offers and more relevant info, it’s hard to keep track of all the different accounts. UsingMiles is here to simplify the process by offering “the best free way to manage your air and hotel loyalty programs and book cash-and-award travel. UsingMiles helps you manage your frequent flier accounts and hotel rewards.”

Dubset – I’m always excited when there’s a music site in the Weekly Faves lineup and Dubset is, indeed, a great treat. Create your own music channels of your fave genre, browse through numerous DJs and their mixes, and keep track with the latest in the music scene, all in one place.

Once you’re logged in you can simply listen to the randomly played tracks of your preferred style, or pick a certain DJ or mix. Each of these can be shared via Facebook and Twitter which is nice and gives great exposure to the featured artists (hey, you get access to full mixes for free). Here’s the DJ page of my favorite, Marco Carola.

Instagram – Taking pictures with the iPhone is fun in and of itself, but there’s a free app that takes creating and sharing photos to a whole new level: Instagram. Even if you’re not too keen on sharing your photos, Instagram will open new photographic horizons for you.

Once you’ve signed up, take any picture. Next is where the Instagram magic lies; choose from a variety of photo filters to see how your seemingly ordinary photo is immediately upgraded. If you want to instantly share your photos, you can via Facebook and Twitter. See the picture below, Tweeting in the Rain by our team member and AMF Co-founder Roy Pessis, using one of Instagram’s retro-like filters. Looks like a postcard, doesn’t it?