Spotify: Will you be my Valentine?

While mixed tapes and burned CDs made my youthful heart beat, now Spotify keeps me pumping

Nothing brings you back to high school the way finding mixed tapes and burned CD with scribbled Sharpie on them does.

There were music mixes made for every occasion and given to friends and lovers with as much pride as a hand knitted scarf. But those days of handing someone a music mix on anything other than an iPhone or a tablet are a thing of the past. Today we make playlists and share them with friends, partners or the whole world -- but that doesn't mean it is any less special.

This is why this year I would like to ask Spotify to be my Valentine.

The young music streaming and sharing service caught my eye back in September when it hoped across the pond from the UK to join the U.S. Internet ecosphere, and like the cool new kid in school, I wanted to know where Spotify got its sweet jacket and invite it to sit next to me during lunch.

Unlike the days when I would burn CDs, Spotify opened my world wide open. You mean I don't need to own the CDs or MP3s that I want in my playlist? And I can listen to the playlists my friends have made? And I can share playlists with anyone on Facebook or Twitter? It was like saying I could fit in everything in my friend's closet. 

And boy did you remind my friends that I like sharing music. Since everyone already makes playlists for themselves, they can easily share them with me with the click of a button. Now I have a library of music that would rival the Beatles collection. 

Even as I write this letter to you, my computer is singing your praises as high as its little speakers can -- and thanks to your ad-free premium offereing, it is sans commercials -- just the good stuff, thank you.

My world has changed. You filled it with music that I never new existed. Granted, I didn't always want you sharing OUR songs with everyone in town, but we can chalk that up to a difference outlook on life. And I do wish you had a palate for some of the more exoctic and new offerings out there, but you've got time to grow.

You made my parties more personalized and my workout session more intense. While we may not be together forever, I sure am glad we found one another and I'll try to support you more financially in the future.

Happy Valentine's Day Spotify: from the bottom of my library to yours.