We’re all guilty of it. Sitting in a classroom while the teacher drones on and on, and discreetly trying to check your MySpace page.

Believe it or not, MySpace has pleanty of other useful purposes besides simply being something interesting to do when you have a lot of time to waste or if you’re trying to stay awake during a boring lecture.

For example, instead of wasting 20 bucks on gas so you can drive to Memphis or Nashville and pay another 45 dollars to see your favorite band in concert — and those are the cheap seats! — you can simply log on, hit up MySpace, and listen to that same band for free right in your own home.

Many bands, both Top 20 acts and undiscovered jems trying to make it in the music world, have quickly jumped on to the MySpace bandwagon, and it’s proved to be one of the best things to ever happen to the music world. Want to hear a song off of that album that’s not due out for another two months? Chances are, it’s on MySpace. Don’t know if your favorite group is heading towards Tennessee on their upcoming tour? Many bands have their tour dates posted on their page. You can see pictures, news and a lot of other goodies on there as well.

But MySpace isn’t just for bands like My Chemical Romance and AFI. You can check out bands like local rockers Horizontal Orange or other groups trying to hit the big time, or who are trying to build up a fan base, even if it’s just in their area. And who can blame them? There is hardly anyone out there who doesn’t have their own MySpace page, or who hasn’t browsed the massive number of pages just out of sheer boredom. That’s better publicity than a shiny ad or edgy commercial that you’ve got to pay a couple of thousands of dollars for and hope that someone who actually cares will see it and want to go buy your album.

Another good reason why the union of music and Myspace is so beautiful? It just may save you money in the long run. And while you may be sitting there wondering how this is possiable, consider this: you hear a song on the radio and you immediately fall in love with it. You decide you have to have it constantly playing in your car or in your MP3 player. You might decide to buy it from iTunes, or you might not. But you decide you have to have it. Problem is, you don’t want to go shell out money for a CD that might only have one good song on it.

Problem solved! You can go to MySpace and, chances are, that band will have more than one song up from that album that you can check out. So then you can listen to it and make sure it’s worth spending that hard-earned cash on. And with all the money you save, you might actually be able to afford going to that concert in Nashville or Memphis!

And as another added bonus, you can also check out your favorite music videos. This is quite helpful to the avid music fan, especially when they have no MTV or VH1 to watch at 1 a.m. to catch the newest video from your favorite artist. Or you can watch old favorites that you haven’t seen in some time when that fit of nostalgia hits you.

Is this going to cause a drop in CD sales? Will MTV and VH1 go off the air because their ratings have dropped? It’s hardly likely. In reality, the use of MySpace to promote music will be a boon to the industry. Hearing new stuff by major names will get you at least to the iTunes Web site, if not to the nearest music store to pick up the CD.

As for the up-and-coming folks, this will give everyone a chance to hear something new, and to perhaps help launch some undiscovered group from California into the next Billboard chart toppers.

So now that you know all about this groovy music you can check out for free, where do you go? It’s simple. Once you get to MySpace, simply click on the word “music” located at the top of the page. And, in no time, you will be checking out thousands of different groups, ranging from the latest gospel act to a hardcore screamo band who claims they are the sons of Satan. Or go to “videos”, and watch whatever it is that tickles your fancy.

But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself!