How To Find The Cheapest Music Downloads

Our quest for the cheapest music downloads on the internet is rising threefold annually. Where they can be found? That is not a question the can be answered in three seconds without investigating a few factors.

Firstly... the peer-to-peer download programs will, by illusion, be the best to get cheapest music downloads for your money. By the word "illusion" I mean using them does not necessarily put you in compliance with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). These include ones that have the blanket slogan: "100% legal" (there is one that doesn't as we'll see later).

These peer-to-peer programs do not have license agreements with major record distributers, unlike the legal digital cheapest music downloads services.

They can be useful for a few purposes as described in this article. Before you decide that peer-to-peer programs might be the route for you have a review of that article and then c'mon back here.

If you plan to download less than ten (10) songs per month, then the least recommended program would be AOL's MusicNet, followed by Napster Premium. There is simply no use in paying $14.95 per month to download a handful of tunes.

The best digital music online service for you in this case would first and foremost be Rhapsody, which offers up to 25 songs per month for free. The next best would be an a la carte type service, such as wal-mart music downloads or Apples iTunes. If all you are searching for is the latest hit from Gwen Stefani, then Rhapsody subscribers need not pay a cent; whereas if you wish to pay, Wal-mart would ecplise iTunes ... by a whole 11 cents.

It should go without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that iTunes plan not only has the best selection of tunes (about four times the volume than Wal-mart's) but its service is still unchallenged. The ability and efficiency to rip, organize and buy songs is the most flawless out of all the services - this is probably why they are still ranked #1).

What if you plan to download way more than ten (10) songs per month, or, as Napster says, a "gazillion" songs? Well, then either Rhapsody Unlimited (Rhapsody's paying version) or Napster Premium would be the way to go to get the cheapest music downloads. Each has comparible prices with Rhapsody's unlimited service being a mere 4 cents per month more.

Both have their own "To Go" Services. We would recommend one of these services if you want to spend pennies on the dollar on downloads versus buying them a la carte. All-in-all, the features of both are excellent and it is just a matter of trying out their free trials and seeing which one you're most comfortable with.


WHAT ABOUT SONGS THAT WE CAN'T FIND ON THE TRULY LEGAL NETWORKS?

This is where the controversial peer-to-peer networks come into play. Traditionally these were the free service programs. The ones where you download the software for free and then download the songs for free, much to the dismay of the RIAA and Metallica.

Then came the ones where you could still download the songs for free, but you would have to pay a subscription fee before you downloaded the software. These were known as the "scam" networks. The ones that state that using the software is "100% legal" and that their free counterparts have more spyware.

There are others where you pay the fee, and they truly offer alot of bang for the buck. Now... when would be the right time to use these? It is common sense in 2005 not to download Kelly Clarkson's songs from these types of services. At least in the U.S. (you could still do this legally in Canada).

What are these good for? Well, in our opinion they are good for non-copyrighted re-mixes of certain popular tunes - ones that you cannot find in stores or on the truly legal digital music download services. Also if you live in Canada, then these could be the way to go to get cheapest music downloads - just watch out for scams.

A more thorough article on peer-to-peer programs including the two best ones may be found here: cheapest music downloads: peer-to-peer programs.

One final note. You can get songs from a legal network, buymusic.com for $0.79. At least this is what they advertise. Most songs on that network are actually more expensive than that of iTunes. Plus the download quality is not as great as iTunes. For this reason we cannot recommend buymusic.com at this time. Their service is improving, however, with fast download speeds. In spite of this, just make sure you look into the digital services above for the cheapest music downloads.

HERE ARE THE LATEST ITEMS UP FOR AUCTION ON EBAY:

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