I’m not sure if this should go here or in IMHO. Mods, please move it if necessary.
I am very new to the MP3 player scene. I have a new MP3 player that I got for Christmas. I’ve loaded lots of songs from my computer onto it, but I would like to find a reputable site to download more. Preferably free, or very low cost.
Any suggestions?
www.last.fm/music/+free
It’s mostly going to be music you’ve never heard of, but it’s a great resource for discovering new tunes and it’s legal as the only freely downloadable at artists’ consent.
I’ll put in my usual plug for www.emusic.com - not the best selection, but they do let you download MP3s without any kind of digital right management encumbrance, and at around $0.30-$0.40 per song (depending on volume,) I’d call it ‘very low cost.’
As someone else hipped me to in a previous thread a few weeks back, check Amazon’s MP3 store. Every Friday they have free downloads as well as some albums selected to be $5 for the week. A great low cost way to bulk up your collection legally and to get turned on to new stuff.
Seconding Amazon’s store. Not only is it cheap and easy to use, their MP3s are of a decent quality. Everything (that I know of) on Amazon is 256 kbps, whereas non-iTunes-plus stuff on iTunes tends to be only 192 kbps and has all kinds of nonsense DRM on it.
I used to be an eMusic customer. It certainly is cheap, and there’s tons of great stuff on there, DRM-free, but quality became a dealbreaker. Lots of the MP3s I got off eMusic were 128 kbps or under, and sounded poor to my ears.
If you don’t care that much about sound quality, though, eMusic is great.
Be careful with eMusic though. I was about to download a few tracks and realized they were not actually by the original artists. They sounded close, but not quite right.
I’ve never noticed this on emusic myself… quality always sounds good to me, though it’s hard to tell what the bitrate is because they use VBR - I just tested one that reported itself as 305kbps, but based on the file size and duration the average was more like 180. (That was the lowest one I could find with a quick look at my emusic directory though.)
On the other hand, it is something to be watchful about - maybe we don’t listen to the same kind of tunes, and they don’t make any hard and fast guarantees about their quality that I know of. (Did you try making any complaints to their help desk?)
Just so you know, there is an iTunes without DRM now.
Interesting. No, I didn’t make any inquiries; I just assumed that’s how it was. When I get home and can browse my iTunes, I’ll report back on what I think sounded poor.
But isn’t the content limited, and more expensive?
Amazon’s MP3s, IIRC, are 80 cents, DRM free, which is both cheaper and more accessible than the majority of iTune’s content.
And if you’re a soda drinker switch to your preferred style of Pepsi, you can use Pepsi points to buy songs from Amazon. We’re not big soda drinkers at my house, but I’ll take the ones that give free tunes as a prize every time.
Pick any two: free, easy, legal.
For now, and about 30¢ more per track. Please bear in mind that I was just pointing out it exists.
Just thought I’d second chrisk’s comments about eMusic’s bitrates. I’m a longtime eMusic customer and I’ve never downloaded an MP3 at 128 kbps from them. They use VBR encoding at an average kbps of 192 kbps (I think it’s listed on one of their FAQs). If you downloaded poor quality encodes, you might try emailing them to get them to fix the situation.
A quick rule of thumb: If you see a popular mainstream act on emusic, then it’s probably a cover tune or tribute band. There are exceptions, of course, but it pays to read the descriptions and comments carefully.
AFAIC, emusic is a godsend, but my musical tastes are pretty broad and not limited to just typical radio fare. If you’re a fan of mainstream rock, pop and rap, then emusic’s not for you. But if you love indie rock, jazz and classical then you’ll love emusic.
There are lots and lots (and lots) of reissues on eMusic. Some are close, others are just awful. Read the comments before downloading. They are just passing through the info the labels provide, so it’s not eMusic playing any games.
The major exceptions being bands like CCR, The Rolling Stones, and (for a brief moment) Frank Zappa. View all Collections with suspicion.
Thanks everyone!
I went to Amazon since I already have an account. Easy peasy! Not that cheap, 99 cents each for the two songs I downloaded, but super simple. I also downloaded a freebie one.
I don’t drink Pepsi, though. Ack, ptueey! 
Damn, there was a Zappa window and I missed it!? I’d really like to update some of my old, scratched Zappa vinyl to digital and, for some reason, I never got around to getting any of his stuff on CD. I should correct that.
The above highlights another quirk of emusic: Artists and sometimes whole labels can disappear and (re)appear as contracts expire, or are written or renewed. It certainly keeps things interesting (and sometimes frustrating if something on your save list disappears).
His catalog was on iTunes as well, but his widow pulled it all offline for some reason.
I go to Amazon for my “must have on release date” purchases. No DRM and it is surprisingly easy to use. I’ve yet to go there for a new release and them not have it in MP3 format. I listen to alot of non-radio rock and metal and it’s always there. I’m sure they have all the radio tunes too though.
iTunes can suck it. 99 cents a song is ALOT when buying a whole album (and they don’t give discounts on all albums), you have to have an ipod or pay 30% MORE for the same song without DRM.
Seriously? How did they decide that leaving DRM off the track should cost more, let alone 30% more.