NPR has released its second iPhone app. And while the first was understandably focused on NPR’s news programs and streaming audio from member stations, the new app is focused on music.

In a nutshell, the NPR Music app for iPhone makes it easy to access all of the content available on the NPR Music web site on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. And that’s an awful lot of content. As the New York Times notes, the NPR Music web site has grown substantially over the past few years, and while many of the exclusive concerts and other content available on the site never actually go out over the radio, you can find an awful lot of excellent live performances on the web — or on an iPhone.

The NPR Music app also provides you with easy access to NPR member stations that do stream music. Believe it or not, public radio isn’t just filled with news and information programming. There are still a number of stations that stream jazz and classical music, and a growing number that also provide rock, folk, alternative, and other music.

There are also links to music-related news stories from NPR. For instance, on the home screen of the app today I found a link to listen to an NPR story about the 1 year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death.

What the NPR Music web site has become best known for is providing listeners with a chance to discover new music from artists they might not otherwise have heard about. And while there are recordings of live performances from mainstream acts like the Dave Mathews Band, odds are you’ll find an awful lot of music that you’re unfamiliar with if you spend some time browsing through the archive. And for the most part that’s a good thing, because while it might not be familiar, most of the songs and concerts available through the NPR Music app are definitely worth listening to.

The app supports multitasking in iOS 4 (if you have supported hardware), which means you can stream music in the background while doing other things with your phone. You can also create custom playlists out of stories, and programs.

The NPR Music app is available as a free download from iTunes.

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The NPR News app for the iPhone does a pretty good job of helping you find live and on-demand content from public radio stations across the US. But there’s another app for public radio junkies that has a few extra features, including the ability to find stations that are streaming your favorite programs right now.

The Public Radio Player iPhone app lets you find live radio streams from almost 500 radio stations as well as access to a thousand on-demand public radio programs from NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International, Public Interactive, and the Public Radio Exchange.

One of my favorite features is the ability to tune into live broadcasts of your favorite program. For instance, say you live in New York and you missed Morning Edition this morning. No problem. It’s probably still playing somewhere in the Midwest. Just fire up the app, select the Live tab, and then click on Program to find Morning Edition and the Public Radio Player will show you a list of stations that are currently playing that program so you can tune in live.

There’s also an excellent local station finder that lets you pull up a list of stations within 50, 250, or 500 miles of your current location.

Version 2.1 includes a sleep timer and wake-up alarm, although you’ll need to keep the app open to use these features. While the developers say that version 2.1 was rewritten to improve performance, the one complaint I have about the Public Radio Player is that it does tend to feel a little sluggish when pressing buttons or switching from one menu to another.

The Public Radio Player is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store.

You can find a few more screenshots after the break.

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