(If anyone has a solution to this...either a good proxy, or something else. I am all ears. Also, when the eff are they coming to the US? I know they had some plans...)
I now use Grooveshark, it's good, don't get me wrong, but spotify is much better in terms of interface, but mainly they have a better catalog for the music I listen to (mostly ambient/downtempo/trip hop). If I search for a group Grooveshark will likely have 70% of the songs from each album...maybe. Whereas in Spotify, I can just view 100% of all the albums. Also, while I have not used the Spotify mobile app, I can tell you the Grooveshark mobile app kind of sucks.
Cheers
If you don't know anyone you could drop me an email (it's in my profile) and I could check the store next time I'm out.
Reasons I enjoy Spotify so much...
* Their client is super quick and simple
* Songs load essentially instantly, it's like they're local.
* They have an Android/iPhone client.
* You can create playlists and sync them for offline play.
Unfortunately, for those last two items, you need a premium account. I want to give them my money, why won't they take it! =(