Downloading Music

[Mikekoz13]

My teenage son wants to download music from the web... of course.

I'm looking for options to set him up with that aren't outrageously expensive and aren't full of viruses. I'm a likttle ignorant about this stuff so I'm open to all suggestions.

[Tyler]

Mike, in my opinion, the best place to download music is Amazon.com.

The reason for this is that the songs are only 99 cents and they can be played on ANY device that supports MP3, which most do today.  This is not the case for iTunes.

[Razor X]

Mike, in my opinion, the best place to download music is Amazon.com.

The reason for this is that the songs are only 99 cents and they can be played on ANY device that supports MP3, which most do today.  This is not the case for iTunes.

I second that.  I get most of my music from Amazon.  They also don't charge state sales tax and they frequently run specials where you can get albums for as little as $5.

[Gambrinus]

Yeah, I hate iTunes.  Nothing like buying a song that only works on one device.

[Arnie]

eMusic seems to be up and coming...you get a bunch of free music when you sign up and you pay by the month for a plan of your choice.  I didn't take the cheapest, but the cost equals half of any other site per down load.

I almost backed out of it because they offer a lot, but don't have everything available...but in the past few months that has changed for the better.

The real down side is, if you don't use your subscription for the month...those credits don't roll over and you lose them...

[Razor X]

eMusic seems to be up and coming...you get a bunch of free music when you sign up and you pay by the month for a plan of your choice.  I didn't take the cheapest, but the cost equals half of any other site per down load.

I almost backed out of it because they offer a lot, but don't have everything available...but in the past few months that has changed for the better.

The real down side is, if you don't use your subscription for the month...those credits don't roll over and you lose them...

eMusic is good for indie artists and for acquiring back catalog titles from Sony and Warner Bros.  I'm beginning to run out of things that I want there so I may drop my subscription soon.

[Timmer]

If you don't mind funding our European Cousins, www.legalsounds.com.  Usually about $0.09 a song and in standard MP3 format.  It may take a bit for a new album to come out, but if it's even semi-popular, it will make it there.  Downside, the quality is sometimes dicey on newer releases.  You have to frontload your account, but the more you load, the more free downloads you get.

[Razor X]

If you don't mind funding our European Cousins, www.legalsounds.com.  Usually about $0.09 a song and in standard MP3 format.  It may take a bit for a new album to come out, but if it's even semi-popular, it will make it there.  Downside, the quality is sometimes dicey on newer releases.  You have to frontload your account, but the more you load, the more free downloads you get.

I'm guessing they're using a pretty crappy bitrate?   

[Timmer]

Nothing under 164.

[Razor X]

Nothing under 164.

164 is pretty low.

[The Noggin]

I must say I wouldn't buy from legalsounds.com because the legality of them selling music outside Russia is very questionable IMHO. Plus, like Razor X said, why go without the very good sound quality you get from well-known online stores like Amazon.