Top 5 online music stores

As one may suspect, working in digital music gives a person a somewhat skewed view about the permeation of online music in the general population. Everyone (aside from audiophiles and vinyl buffs) is getting their music fix though the Web nowadays, right? Wrong. Although digital music is on the rise, it's still well behind CDs in terms of overall sales ($2.8 billion versus $15.9 billion, according to one report).

Another report forecasts that digital music sales won't surpass physical media for another four years. Well, what say we prove some people wrong (always fun) and shave a year or two off that number? To help you sort through the clutter of online music, I've rounded up my Top 5 choices for digital tunes. These selections aren't really in any particular order; rather, each service offers a variety of advantages depending on your personal needs and preferences.

• iTunes: Owned by Apple, the iTunes store set the pattern for a la carte music shopping and still reigns king over the customer base. iTunes has sold more than 5 billion songs to date, and it offers excellent integration with the world's best-selling MP3 player, the iPod. It's catalog contains more than 8 million songs as well as a variety of podcasts, TV shows, and movies. The one major bummer is that most of the tracks sold in iTunes can only be played on the iPod or iPhone and not any other MP3 player. You must download the iTunes software in order to access the store, but it works on both Windows and Mac operating systems.

• eMusic: This indie representer is quite a ways behind iTunes in catalog numbers and sales, but it controls the second largest market share (10 to 15 percent, according to label feedback). eMusic has sold more than 200 million tracks in the past four years and is currently averaging five to six million song downloads per month from its catalog of over 3.5 million tracks. The company made a name for itself with an all-you-can-download service but now offers limited subscriptions, starting at $11.99 per month for 30 unrestricted MP3s. Thanks to this "track pack" pricing and the fact that the company doesn't currently sell big label songs, eMusic offers an incredible value: it is the cheapest of the bunch by far (27 cents per track with the Premium plan). It also has a large number of music reviews by editors and users alike.

• Amazon MP3: Started by online retail giant Amazon.com, this music store was the first to offer DRM-free MP3 tracks from the Big Four (aka major music labels). In fact, Amazon deserves a lot of credit for the current movement to do away with confusing restrictions on music downloads. Plus, the company has a huge audience and broad appeal, which will no doubt give digital music a violent shove into the mainstream mindset. Amazon offers a constantly growing catalog, which currently holds over 5 million tracks. It is a Web-based store with only a light app required for queuing downloads. Anyone with a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine can access the store, which also offers audiobooks, movies, and TV shows as digital downloads.

• Napster: Once the reigning peer-to-peer music service, Napster is now a legal music store. It recently transitioned its catalog from DRM-protected WMAs back to the ever-popular unprotected MP3 format that it slung back in its trading days and currently offers the largest selection of legal MP3s on the Web (more than 6 million tracks). Napster offers some excellent editorial content, including music reviews as well as preprogrammed playlists and radio stations. The downloadable client only works on Windows, but anyone with a Web connection can access the store online and purchase tracks.

• Rhapsody: Similar to Napster in most respects, Rhapsody offers a catalog of more than 4.5 million DRM-free MP3s. It's chock-full of preprogammed playlists made by editors and other listeners and includes an innovative radio feature called Channels, some of which are offered up for free listening. Rhapsody is the only service that allows full track previews (up to 25 per month) prior to purchasing the songs. It can be accessed directly on the Web or downloaded as a jukebox (for Windows only) and offers a subscription plan as well.

[danisnotstan]

I cant see how anyone wants to buy a cd anymore....I have hundreds of cd's...I have spent thousands of dollars on the collection....guess what? they break, they get lost, they scratch, etc. I recently discovered Amazon mp3's and I dont think I can go back! Not only do I not have to leave my house and take a chance on a cd being in stock, but Amazon is cheaper and I save the hassle of having to rip the music to the computer! I have my Zune loaded as well as a backup hard drive...no more lost or scratched cd's! The average cd is between $6-10 downloaded from Amazon, why blow $18 @ Best Buy?

[Renegade Knight]

The only reason I'd buy digital is it's cheaper than the CD. I can rip the CD to MP3 and it's in my digital collection. If my computer blow up I have my CD back up. My digital only would just be gone.

At least with DRM free it's now portable so i can back it up and use it where I want. That's what got my to buy digital when it's cheaper than the CD.

[joshdeboer]

Well, digital files require safe storage. What happens if your files disappear? As you get more and more, it requires more and more storage. I always opt for physical media as I can rip the CD's in (FLAC) of course and stream the tracks with my Squeezebox Duet). Listening to low quality tracks from iTunes and Amazon is a waste of time in my opinion. If you have a good setup, listening to music from itrax.com, SACD's and other DVD-Audio makes compressed tracks sound like crap.

[gamrmf]

Yes, if you notice it, but most people can't tell the difference and enjoy listening to "low quality" tracks. CDs waste space and square footage in my home is more than memory for my pc.

[joshdeboer]

Well, digital files require safe storage. What happens if your files disappear? As you get more and more, it requires more and more storage. I always opt for physical media as I can rip the CD's in (FLAC) of course and stream the tracks with my Squeezebox Duet). Listening to low quality tracks from iTunes and Amazon is a waste of time in my opinion. If you have a good setup, listening to music from itrax.com, SACD's and other DVD-Audio makes compressed tracks sound like crap.

[oldgreycat]

I still buy (too many) CDs, usually from Amazon, which I then rip to an external hard drive (which I have backed up on another external hard drive), and from time to time also purchase albums from their MP3 shop. Last night, for the first time, I bought two from iTunes. The plus of Amazon is that everything is encoded at least at 256kpbs - the last two albums I bought were 320kps, actually, and they sound almost as good (but not quite) as CDs. The minuses are the layout of the store and that they don't have everything available on MP3. The upside to the iTunes experience is the store layout and the inventory; the downside is the sound quality, which - if the two albums I bought are representative - is so-so.

I also don't like that I can't share those two albums w/my wife without either burning them to a CD and ripping them to her computer, or installing iTunes to her computer. It's just counter-intuitive to me. So in the future, for my occasional downloadable experiences, I'll stick to Amazon.

[Wenho]

Which services are compatible with the Sony AZ 8 series?

[Jasmineflower]

All of them except iTunes (for the most part...there are some unprotected tracks that you can buy from iTunes that are compatible with it). Even the Rhapsody and Napster subscription plans are compatible with the new Walkmans.

[leganx]

I love AmazonMP3. My collection of CDs had grown to be unmanageable with space requirements and organization. Now all of it is neatly organized. Digital music is now the only way. I haven't bough a CD for a long time.

[We7Steve]

We7 is a UK company to offer free music online for streaming and and downloads and already has deals with major labels, loads of indies and individual artists, so you can find pretty much whatever you want.

[popvoid]

I stopped buying MP3s back in 2004 when a reconfiguration of my server left the DRM-protected cuts I purchased unplayable, and the service I bought them from was purchased by WalMart, who had no interest in solving my problem. I vowed never to purchase another MP3 file until they got rid of DRM, choosing instead to record from various sources. When Amazon starting selling DRM-free songs, I started buying them again. The next step, as one of the other posters mentioned, is broader adoption of the FLAC format for downloads.

[gamrmf]

I love Amazon. I don't understand why anyone uses iTunes anymore. DRM free tracks plus Amazon is usually cheaper if you buy complete albums. I can't speak to Napster and Rhapsody. eMusic is great, but with a limited selection. For me Amazon rules the field.

[FOSyay]

I personally think you should have put the Zune Marketplace as on of the top 5, not because I'm a Microsoft/Zune fanboy but because I can (and do) pick up a Micosoft points card or 2 for not only Zune Marketplace but also Xbox Live. You may think "Your STILL going to the store for music in essence" and thats true I am but I also don't want to put my Credit card on the Internet, and to me the lack of videos, small selection, and DRM is worth it. and also full albums are kinda cheap compared to Wal-Mart or itunes (about $10 for an album just from 2006) the only downside about buying points cards rather than using a credit cars is that there's tax, even so its worth it because I want to be safe online.

[Lynch68]

Emusic sux. Plan and simple in MHO. The reason they are the second largest is marketing. Every magazine, sandisk chip package contains a free 50 song offer. Well you have to sign up to get the 50 free. After searching for simple songs from Black Sabbath to Frank Sinatra to Four Tops to The Who - they don't have them! They don't have anything!! I like all sorts of music and I can't even find the obscur ones like they say they are famous for to fill the 50 free offer. Stay away and try Rhapsody. Everything I look for is here.

[ndurantz]

I think you miss the point of emusic.com. They exist for INDIE music, not mainstream stuff (however, you can find a good deal of mainstream artists on there). True, it is a subscription service, but one of the best out there. The price is unbelievable, quality of the tracks is pretty good (192kps) and it is DRM free. They even let you re-download anything you've ever purchased without charging you again if your files happen to get lost and customer service is great. Just because you don't listen to indie music doesn't mean the site sucks, it just sucks for you. Now go listen to some Sabbath.

[sims12345]

Can't use Amazon MP3 in Canada.... We canadians are allways left out :(

[bethjoep]