Music Downloads: Best Music Download Sites, Reviews

Best music download site overall

Napster

*Est. 99¢ per track Compare Prices

Napster's music catalog has expanded to around six million songs, a number surpassed only by iTunes. Songs come in WMA format, compatible with almost all music players except iPods (Napster is also building a library of… MP3s, which can be played on all music players). You can choose to buy individual songs; you can also take advantage of Napster's ad-supported free streaming online music service. Buying a subscription gets you unlimited listening on a PC. Napster To Go allows you to download songs to a compatible non-iPod MP3 player for $15 per month. While reviews say iTunes is the best music service overall, Napster is best if you don't own an iPod.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

CNET: The best professional review of Napster comes from CNet.com. There's an overall rating plus a detailed breakdown of categories ...

PCMag.com: PC Magazine has a full-length review of Napster 4.0. Rick Broida's coverage is balanced; his overall assessment is that it's a ...

Which? (UK): Which? is the British equivalent of Consumer Reports, with a similar reputation for consumer advocacy and impartial reviews. For ...

About.com: About.com's guide to digital music, Mark Harris, gives Napster a moderately good overall score in this review. He likes the ...

TopTenReviews.com: Among 16 music download services rated at TopTenReviews.com, Napster comes in at a close second to iTunes. Reviews of each ...

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Best music downloads for iPods

iTunes

*Est. 99¢ per track Compare Prices

With over eight million tracks, a thoughtful selection of music and great depth across a broad range of genres, reviewers say iTunes offers one of the most comprehensive catalogs of any music site. The catch is that only… iPod users will want to use this service because of its proprietary AAC music format (you can, however, listen to these tracks on your computer if you don't own an iPod). Unfortunately, iTunes has yet to offer a monthly subscription service like Napster To Go, so you're limited to buying tracks or albums individually.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Macworld: Macworld.com has the most in-depth review of Apple iTunes 8. Scott McNulty discusses version 8 upgrades including Genius ...

PC World: PC World reviews Apple iTunes 8 primarily in terms of how it rates as an upgrade from version 7. Overall, editors say iTunes 8 is ...

CNET: CNet.com has an expert review of Apple iTunes 7 plus over 200 owner-written reviews. Users themselves are critical of iTunes - ...

About.com: About.com's digital music section has credible reviews of several music download services including iTunes. Site guide Mark ...

WinSuperSite.com: Paul Thurrott calls iTunes "without question the finest media player on any platform." There's some background information here ...

ReviewCentre.com: ReviewCentre.com is a U.K.-based user review site with just over a dozen posts on iTunes. There's an overall rating from each ...

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Best value, no DRM

AmazonMP3

*Est. 89¢ to 99¢ per track Compare Prices

While Amazon.com's new service is behind iTunes and Napster in terms of selection, it has one major advantage: AmazonMP3 sells DRM-free MP3 music downloads, meaning that there are no restrictions on how you use the music… you purchase. In addition, MP3 tracks are playable on virtually every music player, including iPods. A few reviewers note that Amazon.com's service still has some quirks to work out with its interface, particularly where the search function is concerned.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

PCMag.com: Though this review was written when AmazonMP3 was still in beta, it offers a nice summary of the pros and cons of this particular ...

TopTenReviews.com: Coverage of AmazonMP3 Editors at TopTenReviews.com rate AmazonMP3 in terms of selection, features and customer support. The ...

DigitalTrends.com: In this update of an older article, reviewer Chris Nickson says that in many cases there's not a great deal of difference between ...

About.com: About.com site guide Mark Harris has a thorough write-up of Amazon MP3, but it's not clear from the description whether or not he ...

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Best site for independent music

eMusic

*Est. $10 per month and up Compare Prices

eMusic doesn't contract with major labels, so its catalog consists mainly of indie groups and emerging artists, along with a healthier-than-average dose of classical music. In addition, some major artists' recordings on… smaller labels at the beginning or end of their careers can also be found. Since eMusic uses the MP3 format, it's playable on nearly all music players, including iPods, with no usage restrictions. Songs can't be bought individually, but monthly download packages for between 30 and 75 tunes bring the cost per track down to 40¢ or less.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

CNET: CNet.com has by far the best coverage of eMusic. The lengthy editorial review is followed by dozens of user reviews. The ratings ...

PCMag.com: PCMag.com has good short review of eMusic. Rick Broida covers navigation, library, cost, features and the Digital Rights ...

About.com: Mark Harris, site guide for About.com's digital music mini-site, calls eMusic "an excellent music service that fills a niche in ...

GiantPath.com: According to its editors, "The Giant Path Guide to Internet Music Services provides Internet users with practical information for ...

ReviewCentre.com: This user-review site, based in the U.K., is somewhat cumbersome to navigate. Most of the posts on eMusic are quite short. Only ...

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Music Downloads: Reviews

Best music download site overall

Best music downloads for iPods

Best value, no DRM

Best site for independent music