Best Music Download Sites

iTunes tops other sites for ease of use

As noted in our ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed section, if you have an iPod (or an iPhone or iPod touch), iTunes (*est. 99¢ per track) is most likely your best choice for a music download service. iPods are not designed to play nice with most other download services (though you can upload unprotected MP3 files to them) and iTunes' file format is incompatible with non-iPod MP3 players. You can use iTunes to download music to enjoy on your computer or to burn to a CD, but most reviewers say there are better (and less expensive) choices for these purposes. High per-track costs and the lack of a subscription service are two major complaints we've seen echoed in many quarters about iTunes, although everyone agrees that the iTunes interface is excellent.

For owners of other MP3 players, there are lots of other choices, though some music download services have disappeared as sites jockey for market share by absorbing competitors and increasing the size of their song catalogs. The biggest player in this regard has been Napster, which absorbed Virgin Digital and AOL Music Now in January 2007, pumping up its catalog to over six million songs, second only to the iTunes library.

Once the bad boy of the music download business for its free (and unregulated) file sharing, Napster is now a subscription service (*est. $13 per month) that allows unlimited streaming onto your PC. You can also choose to buy individual songs in WMA format (*est. 99¢ each), which can be burned onto a CD or loaded onto an MP3 player. Napster also offers a Napster Light level of membership, but songs can only be played in 30-second clips unless you opt to purchase the track. There's also a free version of Napster that lets you play music online in exchange for viewing ads every 20 minutes or so. The Napster To Go service allows you to download an unlimited number of songs to a compatible MP3 player (*est. $15 per month). As with all subscription services, if you let your subscription lapse, you lose access to your music.

In reviews, Napster generally does well and is a favorite among many reviewers. For example, it is the top music download service at PC Magazine, where Rick Broida calls it "the music-subscription champ." John Frederick Moore and Troy Dreier at CNet.com feel that Napster's subscription and track charges are high, but add that "if it's an all-encompassing digital music shopping experience you're after, Napster's tough to beat."

If your taste runs beyond the usual mainstream fare that can be found at most music download sites, eMusic (*est. $10 per month and up) bears some consideration. eMusic doesn't contract with major labels, so its catalog consists mainly of indie groups and emerging artists, but you can also find some releases from major artists on smaller labels dating from the beginning or end of their careers.

eMusic has a couple of other interesting twists that set it apart from other music download sites. For one, it offers music in DRM-free MP3 format, which can be played on virtually any PC or MP3 player -- including an iPod. Secondly, eMusic uses a unique subscription-to-own program. Songs are not available on a per-track basis. Instead, users purchase a number of downloads per month (30, 50 or 75) at a fixed cost (*est. $10 to $20), resulting in a low per-track cost (*est. 27¢ to 40¢). eMusic also offers an audiobook subscription service, in which you receive one or two audiobook credits each month for a fixed rate (*est. $10 to $20).

Reviewers say eMusic won't be everyone's cup of tea. Janet Ingber, writing at AFBAccessWorld.com, found the music download site easy to use despite some learning-curve hiccups at first, and appreciates the DRM-free MP3 files. However, she had a lot of trouble finding tracks from some better-known artists such as the Beatles and Tim McGraw, while searches for music from the Black Eyed Peas and Mariah Carey yielded only tribute band recordings. Rick Broida at PC Magazine, however, is "ears-over-heels for eMusic." He loves the ability to get MP3s without the nuisance of DRM issues, adding that eMusic makes competitors' "heavily armored downloads seem particularly draconian." He notes that big-name artists remain scarce, but that even there he sees some improvement. Broida also says that "half the fun is discovering new artists," and that eMusic provides a lot of tools to make that easier.