Get 770 free MP3s from Amazon

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? Amazon.com has nearly 800 MP3s free for the download.

(Credit: Rick Broida)

Want to freshen up your music library? Amazon.com is offering a whopping 770 MP3s you can download free of charge.

I've long been a fan of Amazon's MP3 store, which offers DRM-free music downloads compatible with PCs, portable players, cell phones, GPS devices, MP3-playing fry pans, and other gizmos.

I visit the store almost daily to check out the Daily Deal, which is usually a complete album for just $2 to $4. (For example, last month, Amazon had U2's new "No Line on the Horizon" for $3.99. Alas, it's back up to $8.99--but that's still a buck cheaper than on Apple's iTunes.)

As for the freebies, you'll find singles from the likes of Neko Case, Robyn Hitchcock, Death Cab for Cutie, and plenty of artists you've probably never heard of. But so what? Free is free, and there's loads of good listening to be had here. Here are five downloads I like:

• "Hurt Feelings," Flight of the Conchords
• "Belated Promise Ring," Iron & Wine
• "Ghosts Under Rocks," Ra Ra Riot
• "Sean Connery," Craig Ferguson (8 minutes of stand-up gold)
• "All the Same Mistakes," Mieka Pauley

Unfortunately, there's no way to download all 770 tracks in one fell swoop--you have to grab them one at a time. (You'll also need to install Amazon's MP3 Downloader app, which, conveniently, can automatically add new tracks to your iTunes or Windows Media Player library.)

Amazon regularly adds new stuff to the freebie library, so make sure to check back every few weeks. Oh, and if you want an easy way to keep tabs on the Daily Deal, subscribe to Amazon's Twitter feed.

[chrisa52]

You can also get full freebie albums from Indie labels.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_19690_11693640?ie=UTF8&docId=1000353491">here</a>.

[livingaudio]

awesome!
d(^_^)b

[catch23]

I didn't need to download the installer app. Just signed in and it downloads the MP3's from the web browser.

[cnetterite]

"You'll also need to install Amazon's MP3 Downloader app" does not seem like a "no-strings-attached" deal as you state in your RSS headline.

[James7777777]

You don't need to install the app, that just makes it a bit easier.

[thelemurking]

Very cool, downloading the Amazon Sampler and Anti Sampler 2009 now just to check out some new music

[joeltom]

I must be old. Shouldn't that be "and plenty of OTHER artists you've probably never heard of"?

[coulterboyz]

If you listen to top 40 radio at all, I promise you you have heard a Neko Case or a Death Cab for Cutie song somewhere along the line

[BlueJaeger]

"We could not process your order. The sale of MP3 Downloads is currently available only to US customers located in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you."

Doh!

[Impulses]

That irritates me so much, it seems like Amazon's store is simply IP-locked anywhere outside of those regions, even in places and territories like Puerto Rico where all their existing deals w/music companies probably still apply. iTunes and Zune work just fune here, yet Amazon's MP3 store doesn't... grrr!

[jjacksonMPLS]

I think I figured this out. MP3 sales on Amazon use your default 1-Click settings for payment and address verification. I had never set up my 1-Click settings explicitly. So I perused them in my Amazon.com account profile and low-and-behold the first address listed in my list of addresses is a UK address (my uncle) I had used previously for shipping.

Once I explicitly set up my 1-Click with my actual address, things worked much better.

It would be nice if Amazon could actually say that in the error message though!!! :)

Happy listening...

Jeff

[sparticus1701]

Just looked at the list. They're overpriced.

[Georgia in MS]

Hey Rick, While you're watching Amazon, please keep an eye out for a "deal" on a Kindle.

[rickbroida]

Definitely. I don't suspect we'll see one anytime soon, but believe me, I'm watching. :)

[esycheung]

APPLAUSE for free? What the heck?

http://www.amazon.com/Applause/dp/B001MF0Q7Y/ref=sr_1_109?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1239641762&sr=1-109

[cmsell]

This is exactly why Amazon will ultimately beat out iTunes. They are great at promotions. There are tons of good mp3 downloads in that group. Would iTunes doing anything like that. They are always coming up with great promotional ideas. This isn't there only good one (but the only one that is free). They have the great deals every friday as well as the great daily mp3 deal. You can buy complete albums for $2 or $3 bucks - another great deal. I always track them using the following page:

http://www.frugalgadgets.com/amazon-mp3-daily-deal.php

[truthortroll]

if you are on facebook iTunes does give away the back to school music sampler every september...a great promotion that I look forward to every year.

[reggaelion]

You can also just subscribe to their newsletter and get all these free mp3's delivered to your email. http://www.amazon.com/gp/gss/detail/841000

[MakaiOokami]

I downloaded a ton of these songs already. i stopped cause I'm waiting for Skeleton Man to download because I'm curious what a band called Evangelicals is going to have on that song. It intrigued me. It hasn't downloaded cause I've already got like 100 something downloading but it'll probably be downloaded soon or already.

Anyway I've been clicking on random songs and listening to them and so far I'm loving what I've played.

I expected a lot of wannabe pop stars but a lot of the songs I hear ESPECIALLY from genres I normally don't like are just great. House of Heroes is a DEFINITE try out. They're a band I would definitely pay 2 dollars for to play on Rock Band. Some good punk that I normally wouldn't enjoy.

The song "Hurt Feelings" is the FUNNIEST rap song I've ever heard.

Mochipet - Anthem so far is definitely one of my top favorites that I've been sampling tonight. Man I'm going to be playing the HELL out of these songs. If you like nothing but popular music you probably won't like any of these. This is why i don't like listening to the radio (even though Rock Band series has gotten me used to a lot of radio tunes and it isn't as unbearable as it used to be) bands like this are so underexposed and it's sad because they really deserve more of a following.

Even bands like Sepulta with the song "What I do" isn't bad death or heavy heavy metal. This is just an overall good mix of a TON of songs, genres, styles, etc...