Despite the growth of music streaming services similar Spotify and Apple Music, many people nonetheless prefer to buy (at to the lowest degree some of) their music.

Buying music online means you ain information technology outright rather than using it under license. Equally such, tracks aren't going to disappear from your library suddenly. Plus, there'south no danger of the parent visitor going out of business and taking your music collection with it.

If you lot want to buy music rather than stream music, here are the best places to purchase music online.

1. Amazon

When you buy a song or album online, there are two means you can receive the content—either digitally (in the course of an MP3 file) or physically (as a CD or vinyl tape). Amazon caters to both markets.

When yous enter the listing of a song or album that'south available on Amazon, y'all will come across a selection of purchase options available. Depending on availability, you can choose to grab the MP3 or physical version. The MP3 version is generally cheaper. If you buy the CD version, you will typically be granted a complimentary copy of the MP3 version.

And retrieve, if you download the Amazon Music app, you tin can stream all of your digital music purchases from inside it.

two. iTunes Store

Apple iTunes Store was the original online music store, and it continues to thrive to this 24-hour interval, admitting in a slightly reimagined format. Most singles on iTunes cost $0.99, though pop songs are normally $ane.29. The default price of an anthology is $9.99.

Just how can you access the iTunes Shop? Information technology depends on which operating arrangement yous're using.

  • If you use a Mac, the iTunes Store has been part of the all-new Apple Music app since the release of macOS Catalina. The sometime iTunes app no longer exists, but you can still employ your iTunes collection in the Apple Music app.
  • The iTunes Store is a standalone app on iOS.
  • Conversely, iTunes does notwithstanding exist on Windows. You volition detect the iTunes Store within it.

Regardless of the app, the upshot is the same—y'all can purchase a digital version of a vocal and download it onto your device.

3. Beatport

Beatport is the all-time online music store for fans of electronic trip the light fantastic music (EDM). You can buy music every bit singles or albums; most singles cost $1.29 or $1.99, while albums run to about $10.

One of the shop's best features is the ease with which you can find new tracks. EDM is notoriously hard to navigate for newcomers—the sheer number of DJs, producers, and remixes make it difficult to detect fresh music you'll beloved. However, with Pinnacle 100 charts, DJ charts, endless genre categories, and fifty-fifty an accompanying blog, Beatport lowers the entry bulwark considerably.

4. 7digital

7digital is arguably the king of high-resolution music downloads. The visitor has been around since 2004.

Most songs are available in 3 formats: 320kbps MP3 (standard quality), 16-fleck/44.1kHz FLAC (CD quality), and 24-bit/96kHz FLAC (high-res quality).

Unless you're an audiophile with an expensive speaker setup, the high-res version is probably an unnecessary expense. It'due south easy to spot which formats are available for which tracks/albums thanks to the tags on the anthology artwork thumbnails.

The number of songs/albums bachelor for purchase on 7digital is in the millions. As such, you tin can be confident you volition observe the music you want, even if it falls into a niche genre. All the latest hits from the globe'southward biggest music stars are too available.

5. HDtracks

The other large proper noun in the loftier-resolution audio world is HDtracks. It straight competes with 7digital.

There are both pros and cons when compared with its rival. On the upside, HDtracks has a greater number of audio formats bachelor. The highest quality tracks (24-fleck/176.4KHz) are a significant pace up on the best loftier-res tracks on 7digital, though nigh of the music available in the highest-quality format falls into the classical music genre.

On the downside, the site is more geared towards albums. If yous prefer buying singles, y'all might have ameliorate luck with 7digital.

Make certain you besides check out the various "Superlative" lists. They are divided by genre and permit you explore the most popular music on the site for a given surface area.

Be sure to check out the best streaming services for audiophiles if y'all love howdy-res music.

6. Bandcamp

Musicians accept spent much of the last decade criticizing services like Spotify for their payment models. At $0.006 to $0.0084 per play, artists and bands need to rack up hundreds of thousands of listens before they make money.

Bandcamp, which is an independent platform, offers a more than band-friendly model. Musicians can make their own stores on the site and sell their songs directly to fans.

As a heir-apparent, you can download a track as many times as you desire once you've paid for it. Concrete CDs and vinyl records are as well bachelor for buy (though aircraft costs can sometimes be prohibitive).

Multiple formats are available for digital downloads, including MP3, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, OGG, WAV, and AIFF.

7. CD Universe

If you lot're a traditionalist who prefers owning CDs over digital music, check out CD Universe. The site is fairly bones, only it has ane of the almost in-depth collections of CDs and vinyl records available for purchase anywhere on the web. At the final count, in that location were more 800,000 titles.

We as well like that CD Universe accepts payments via PayPal. That sets it autonomously from Amazon, the other big concrete CD seller on our listing. The toll of a CD is slightly higher on CD Universe, however.

8. Walmart

Walmart might not exist the first name that pops into your caput when you lot recollect well-nigh music, just the grocery giant has long offered CDs and vinyl records in its stores and online.

The drove of titles isn't every bit deep nor as niche as Amazon and the like, but if you're looking to option up the latest music from today's stars, you'll find the albums readily bachelor along with competitive prices.

And remember, Walmart offers a pickup service. You tin get the music yous want in a physical form without waiting for a delivery driver or needing to prepare foot inside a store.

Buying Music vs. Streaming Music

Everyone has their preferences, and we're non going to say that one approach is better than another. Information technology depends on whether you prefer the ease of Spotify or the legal ownership of buying music outright.

Recall, you lot can download your almost-loved albums on Spotify for offline listening. However, you cannot export them outside the Spotify ecosystem.

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Virtually The Writer

Dan Toll (1609 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Managing director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires almost sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and whatsoever other forms of partnership. You lot can also notice him roaming the bear witness floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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