Digital download site recommendations?

[TheAmazingMediocrity]

Hello escapist! Long-time lurker here, looking for some advice.

A friend of mine has been using Amazon for his music downloads until recently, when they pulled that cloud storage nonsense. As such, he is now looking for an alternative, where he can actually download his mp3s without having to jump through hoops and register products, etc. I've recommended iTunes, but he's a bit iffy on the idea of having to download software to do so.

Any recommendations, guys and gals?

 

[Evil Smurf]

I use (aside from iTunes) GrooveShark and I was a beta tester for guvera

 

[L0dest0ne]

Try any of the miscellaneous youtube music downloaders. You can download for free and without "hoops," but quality may be questionable.
Other than that, is rhapsody still kicking around? Last I remember their songs were cheaper than itune's.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I use eMusic, although I'd be the first to say that it isn't for everyone. Basically, you pay a recurring subscription, and you have until the subscription renews to spend the money from it. The upside of it is that most of the music on it is much cheaper than in other places (most songs cost 50 cents, and most albums are six bucks or less). It also has a pretty good, although far from perfect, selection of more obscure bands.

It's worth checking out, but like I said, it's not for everybody.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I use eMusic, although I'd be the first to say that it isn't for everyone. Basically, you pay a recurring subscription, and you have until the subscription renews to spend the money from it. The upside of it is that most of the music on it is much cheaper than in other places (most songs cost 50 cents, and most albums are six bucks or less). It also has a pretty good, although far from perfect, selection of more obscure bands.

It's worth checking out, but like I said, it's not for everybody.

That site looks pretty good, from the few minutes I've been looking at it. I may switch over from Amazon for that.

I presume the music is iTunes compatible?

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I use eMusic, although I'd be the first to say that it isn't for everyone. Basically, you pay a recurring subscription, and you have until the subscription renews to spend the money from it. The upside of it is that most of the music on it is much cheaper than in other places (most songs cost 50 cents, and most albums are six bucks or less). It also has a pretty good, although far from perfect, selection of more obscure bands.

It's worth checking out, but like I said, it's not for everybody.

That site looks pretty good, from the few minutes I've been looking at it. I may switch over from Amazon for that.

I presume the music is iTunes compatible?

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be, as the files are just MP3s. However, I have not actually tried it myself, as I haven't used iTunes for years.

 

[thesilentman]

Cp'ed from Wikipedia:

Spoiler

7digital
Amazon MP3
Bandcamp
Bandit.fm
Beatport
BigPond Music
CD Baby
Classical Archives
Deezer
Ditto Music
Djshop
eMusic
GoMusicNow
Grooveshark
Google Play
Guvera
iMesh
iTunes Store
Jamendo
Juno Records
Last.fm
Magnatune
Mog
MusicStation
Music Unlimited
Napster
Nimbit
Nokia Music Store
OverDrive, Inc.
Pandora
Puretracks
Rdio
Rhapsody
RouteNote
Sellaband
Simfy
Slacker
Spotify
Songza
SoundCloud
Streamwaves
Ubetoo
Vodafone Music
we7
Walmart Music
WiMP
Yala Music
Zune Marketplace

I use CDs for my music! The quality is fantastic. [sub]What? It's a legit idea: ordering the CDs. LIstening to my music in the car is always a plus. [/sub]