1. A method of identifying an audio content sample that originates from an actual broadcast, including: monitoring a plurality of broadcast stations, fingerprinting and saving the fingerprints of broadcast audio content in a database of unidentified broadcast content as it is received; accessing playlists, comprising portions of identified broadcast audio content from the plurality of monitored broadcast stations, and fingerprints corresponding to the identified broadcast audio content; receiving data representing sampled audio content from a portable device and searching for a match between fingerprints of the sampled audio content and the fingerprints corresponding to at least parts of multiple playlists, further including: upon finding a fingerprint match against the fingerprints corresponding to a particular playlist for a particular monitored broadcast station, reporting the particular monitored broadcast station as a source of the broadcast audio content, and a description of the broadcast audio content back to the portable device; and upon not finding a fingerprint match against the fingerprints corresponding to any of the multiple playlists, further searching for a match of the fingerprints of the sampled audio content, against at least one of: parts of the database of unidentified broadcast content from the monitored broadcast stations, to identify a source of the broadcast audio content; and a reference database of identified audio content not associated with a particular broadcast station, to identify the sampled audio content; and reporting back to the portable device at least one of the source of the broadcast audio content and the identity of the sampled audio content.