Apple indeed operates the largest online content store in the world, the iTunes Store, but its storefront in iTunes and on the web leaves a lot to be desired. As a result of this, searching the iTunes Store often resembles picking a needle in the haystack. I mean, a fifteen-year old showed Apple who’s who in the usability department by creating iTunes Instant, a web-based search tool. Another guy also wrote App Store Instant in the spirit of Google’s Instant Search.
Tunesque from Marco Tabini is awesome. A lightweight search front end, Tunesque sits in your Lion’s menu bar, awaiting your command. Just begin typing and Tunesque does its thing. This nifty little program sports a blue search box that reminds a lot of Spotlight, but the similarities don’t stop there. Tunesque formats its output Spotlight style, grouped by iTunes Store categories such as apps, music, movies, books and more, allowing you to easily spot what interests you. Hover over an item and up pops a handy iTunes description that includes a product shot, description and user ratings. That’s not all…
You can also pick store items you want shown and what kind of results it shows. I was sold in particular on an option letting me choose any local iTunes Store that interests me, something that our non-U.S. readers will especially learn to appreciate. Wrapping up, Tunesque is an easy way to search the entire iTunes Store without having to launch iTunes or Mac App Store apps or run a Google search for iTunes Preview web entries. Best of all, Tunesque is a free download and it weighs in at only 811KB.
