Get a free MP3 album from Rhapsody

(Credit: Rhapsody)

Watch out, AmazonMP3: Rhapsody just joined the DRM-free MP3 club. The music-subscription service's new MP3 store sells individual tracks for 99 cents and albums for $9.99. And if you're one of the first 100,000 folks to create an account by July 4, you can get a free album.

Strings? You do have to provide a credit card when you set up your account, and you have to install Rhapsody's MP3 Download Manager (Windows only), which can automatically add downloaded songs to your iTunes library. With that done, you'll immediately find a $10 credit in your account. (Note: You have to use it before July 4.)

As with AmazonMP3, Rhapsody's MP3s come free of copy protection, meaning you can use them with iPods and every other player on the planet. However, Rhapsody lets you preview full tracks before purchasing, whereas AmazonMP3 limits you to 30-second snippets. However, Amazon definitely has the edge in pricing, with many tracks and albums selling for $0.89 and $8.99, respectively (to say nothing of some sweet daily deals).

Of course, a free album is a free album, so hurry to Rhapsody and grab an account. You've got absolutely nothing to lose--and Brendan Benson's awesome Alternative to Love to gain. (What can I say, I'm a fan.)

[Zen-Masta]

I agree, this will probably be bad for amazon. I tried amazon mp3 before and found it to be a hassle because their whole service is web based. Sometimes the links didn't load and when you tried to do it again it resulted in a double purchase I got 5 free songs cause I bought a zune from amazon but only ended up getting three because it messed up. Customer service fixed it but I didn't trust it to work after that. Client based software like yahoo (now rhapsody) and itunes is the way to go.

[Galley]

Mac users do no need to download any software. The album downloads as a standard zip file.

[rickbroida]

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with the selection thus far. No Raconteurs, no Iron and Wine, limited Decemberists... had a hard time finding an album I really wanted!

[marsilies]

Both of those bands are on there, as The Raconteurs and Iron & Wine.

http://mp3.rhapsody.com/theraconteurs
http://mp3.rhapsody.com/ironwine

[rickbroida]

D'oh! Should have clarified. The Raconteurs are there, but no albums are available for purchase -- only some interview thing. As for Iron & Wine, I did a search for "Iron and Wine" and found nothing. Bad search engine. Bad!

[marsilies]

Also, you don't have to install the download manager on Windows; the option to download your order as a zip file is right below the option for installing the download manager.