I found a great alternative to playing along to locked backing tracks. It allows me not only to play, but compose the song as well by creating a sequence of chord changes. The newest version of this software (Band in a Box) uses live musicians "Real Tracks" in an amazing way to bring my songs to life. And the 2014 version finally has a new interface.
I have used Band in a Box when all it did was midi. Its so much better now that it uses live performance wave files that conform to your song structure. Its like being in a band, but the other guys never show up stoned
Here a blues shuffle I did with an older version of the program. Really looking forward to composing new stuff which I create in BIAB then edit in Logic Pro X .Thats also where I track in the Kemper guitar stuff with SPDIF.