The new design is gorgeous, yes. No one is calling it ugly. But ugh, it is quite unusable.
Of course, I never used the site before the redesign, so what do I know?
Before it was a game, you start off with hearts and get more as you level up and listen to music, that is still there but because interaction is gone supporting artists with the game seems nonexistent and competing is nonexistent. (Not everyone played the game.)
Now (as you said) you have pretty pictures and a radio instead of basically an iphone/ipod with a bunch of contacts and connections to artists.
I don't care about games, points, hearts, enthusiasts, community, or any of that -- I want good music playing in the background while I do other things.
IMO this new redesign is both unique and more accessible. If it's about music the music should be front-and-center, no? Sometimes you have to cannibalize your users to reach a larger audience.
I know I'm probably going to go to T61 every day, now. I've already bought two albums based off of what I found there, and before the redesign it was totally uninteresting to me.
while technically usable, its not necessarily something i want to use.