Great MP3 minds think alike

They say diversity is the spice of life, but a new music app claims you can add flavor to your listening routine by networking with those who have the exact same tastes as you.

A group called Emergent Music today launched Goombah, a community-driven, music discovery site and desktop application. Goombah offers its members "taste-targeted free music" through patent-pending technology that claims to analyze users' iTunes collections and listening behavior and connect them to people and music that "precisely match their taste."

It's not rocket science to conclude that people with similar music collections are the best sources for recommendations of new artists and tracks that you haven't yet heard but probably would enjoy. Goombah seems slightly ahead of the game, however, by launching with an inventory of 5 million unique tracks that's already growing thanks to a five-month beta testing period. Goombah also features an "Adventurousness" slider tool that widens the scope of recommendations from the most popular to those on the fringe.

Goombah was easy to download and within a few minutes had analyzed our iTunes inventory to create a list of over 100 recommended tracks. Several of the free songs got our feet tapping and introduced us to artists worth pursuing. However, a good portion of the recommendations actually had to be purchased through iTunes, not exactly the free music we had anticipated. Additionally, you can't use Goombah on any computer that doesn't house an iTunes library.

Will Goombah offer anything earth-shatteringly new to those already fluent in browsing by category? And speaking of diversity, what is up with that potentially offensive name?

Time will tell, but in the meantime, stay tuned for a more in-depth Goombah feature from CNET News.com.