Best Stores for Buying Digital Music You Can Keep Forever
View details View details
View details View details
View details View details
SOUNDBAR DEALS OF THE WEEK
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
Photo Gallery1/1
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 320Kbps, Lossless (up to 24kHz)
With the support of many indie music labels, Bandcamp (now a part of Epic Games) is perhaps the best alternative to iTunes or Amazon, particularly if your tastes run to the more esoteric. The site enables you to download in whichever format you like (MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless) and seemingly as many times as you like, without paying extra. In addition, the site runs regular Bandcamp Friday events, which give 100% of the proceeds to the artist.
<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best for Prime members" description="
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 256Kbps
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, Amazon Music makes a lot of sense. You get a (limited) streaming service and a music store to buy MP3s from, in addition to streaming and automatic rips of physical discs that you buy. The digital music homepage is fairly drab — just a bunch of blocky buttons instead of cover art — and includes prominent links to Amazon Music Unlimited streaming.
Note that although Amazon scuttled its "digital locker" service that stores your MP3s, the MP3s you buy from Amazon will still be available for streaming and download.
","credits":"Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET","imageData":{"id":"4483ea41-0a0d-4d3e-a9ce-31944f35fdab","filename":"screenshot-716.png","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/32baaeb401ed812b740f9c595826d94db863692e/hub/2023/04/18/4483ea41-0a0d-4d3e-a9ce-31944f35fdab/screenshot-716.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","dateCreated":{"date":"2023-04-18 20:10:01.000000","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageUrl":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/32baaeb401ed812b740f9c595826d94db863692e/hub/2023/04/18/4483ea41-0a0d-4d3e-a9ce-31944f35fdab/screenshot-716.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","imageCaption":"
Average cost per album: $10 (CD quality), $15 (24-bit)
Maximum bit rate: Lossless (up to 24/192)
If you’re only interested in high-quality downloads — and by this I specifically mean 24-bit hi-res — the Qobuz download store is the cheapest. Like the Qobuz music streaming service, it caters to a wide variety of music genres, from pop to jazz to death metal to whatever you can think of. The site also offers sales on new releases including a recent Metallica promotion. If you’re an ultra-keen audiophile you can sign up for the $180-a-year Sublime streaming package, which also gives you discounts of up to 60% on Hi-Res downloads.
<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best for dance music" description="
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 320Kbps, Lossless (up to 24kHz)
If your tastes run to dance music with a sprinkling of indie, then you’ll find a lot to love about Bleep. The site also has a good selection of 16-bit and 24-bit FLACs that aren’t subject to the price hikes of some competitive vendors.
If your tastes run to dance music with a sprinkling of indie then you’ll find a lot to love about Bleep. The site also has a good selection of 16-bit and 24-bit FLAC which aren’t subject to the price hikes of some competitive vendors.
","credits":"Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET","imageData":{"id":"89541186-231d-4263-9d06-419827c7ab8d","filename":"screen-shot-2017-03-03-at-1-00-45-pm.png","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/9f3ca9f89d400646002db41fa2cb6e2f0c9d0873/hub/2017/03/03/89541186-231d-4263-9d06-419827c7ab8d/screen-shot-2017-03-03-at-1-00-45-pm.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","dateCreated":{"date":"2017-03-03 18:01:39.000000","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageUrl":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/9f3ca9f89d400646002db41fa2cb6e2f0c9d0873/hub/2017/03/03/89541186-231d-4263-9d06-419827c7ab8d/screen-shot-2017-03-03-at-1-00-45-pm.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&height=500","imageCaption":"
Maximum bit rate: 320kbps
Average cost per album: $10
If your tastes run to dance music with a sprinkling of indie then you’ll find a lot to love about Bleep. The site also has a good selection of 16-bit and 24-bit FLAC which aren’t subject to the price hikes of some competitive vendors.
