# What are your favorite music download sites?



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

What places have the best quality downloads? And is there a place that has a really good bang for the buck for what you get?


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## Stycker (Jan 31, 2018)

I have always had good luck with HDtracks and Onkyo Hi res music. I also like to get CD's from Goodwill and Second Spin online used CD's. But its all in the recording and engineering of the album anyway.


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## dmazyn (Apr 29, 2008)

I use Murfie Music. It's a used CD site but allows you to download any CD you buy in multiple formats including Flac. You can either just buy the CD and download it with no shipping cost or download and have the CD shipped. 

I have gotten about 20 CD's from them without any issues.


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

HDtracks and Amazon


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

I've decided to bump this thread just to get an idea of where most people are finding, purchasing, and/or streaming their music. Newer music releases in particular.

As a FYI, if the artist or music is one I enjoy listening to regularly, I tend to purchase non-DRM downloads that can be saved as local files or purchase the physical media, rather than just streaming the content.

I will only purchase and download from *HDtracks* and the other various Hi-Res providers very selectively. It's reserved for unique releases or versions that aren't available anywhere else. And if it's "Hi-Res" on HDtracks, I will only purchase after confirming the release is not simply "transposed" from existing media or releases, and not derived from an inferior master.


Personally, I'm finding *BandCamp* as being one of the best sources for newer music. But a large majority of legacy or mainstream artists are available there as well.

And many artists, including established artists, offer their entire discography for download at a substantial discount.

Sales on BandCamp are generally artist-direct, or direct from the respective record label, so from what I've read, artists receive a much higher percentage of their music sales from BandCamp than from any other revenue source.

And prices on BandCamp are extremely reasonable, with the option to contribute more if desired.

Many artists also offer unique and/or Limited Edition releases, such as exclusive Vinyl LPs, Autographed media, merchandise & swag, as well as "bundled" offers.

You can download the files from BandCamp in nearly any format you desire:

WAV, AIFF, FLAC, AAC, MP3, etc.

And BandCamp's "similar artists" recommendations are generally quite good as well.

You can usually listen to ALL of the Full Length tracks before committing to a purchase, and ALL purchases include Unlimited Streaming via the BandCamp streaming app.


For more home-baked, independent, and unique music via downloads or streaming, *SoundCloud* can be a good option. But it seems to be more difficult to sift through the multitude of mediocre stuff to find the gems. But there are some gems to be found.

For out of print, rare, hard to find releases, I will usually search the *Discogs Marketplace *first and purchase the physical media (an LP, CD, SACD, Blu-Ray, DVD-Audio, etc.).

For physical media, eBay and Amazon are also options, and between these three you can usually find a very reasonable price.

I need to look into that Murfie Music site that was posted above.


STREAMING:

To discover new music, the various Streaming Services have become invaluable. But it's difficult to choose just one as each have unique strengths and weaknesses.

Like many, I have *Amazon Prime*, and that includes a decent range of artists and genres for streaming via the included *Amazon Music*. I haven't upgraded to the Amazon HD service.

I do tend to like the recommendations that Amazon Music provides while streaming via "random play" within a particular genre, and it's easy to "steer" their algorithm more towards your preferences by "disliking" particular tracks that come up in the shuffle.

I also have streaming via *BandCamp*, *SoundCloud*, *Tidal HiFi*, and *Qobuz*.

For whatever reason, I tend to use Tidal HiFi and SoundCloud the least. In addition to streaming, Qobuz also offers Hi-Res download purchases, and its library is a bit different from others, although a bit limited as well.

I've not purchased any new portable Apple _iOS_ devices for many years now, so I haven't compared *Apple Music* extensively to others, though my better half uses it, so it's always an available option. 

And even though I've used Android smartphones and tablets for many years now, I never really was a fan of *Google Play/Music*. And now that it's morphed into *YouTube Music*, I haven't been compelled to jump on that bandwagon even though I'm a YouTube addict.

The real dilemma is that between all of these sources and options, there is more music than I could possibly listen to in my entire lifetime!


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