Hi Guys,
I was wondering where you all buy music. I'm looking to start building a library of songs (mostly rock and metal) and don't want to use itunes, since I don't have an ipod and if I was buying a media player it would probably be an MP3 player. www.7digital.com looks pretty decent, but I have no experience with them. I'm not adverse to picking up some cds, but sometimes downloading is easier. And I don't want a subscription style service that confiscates your music if you cancel, like Napster.
Looking forward to your thoughts

I'm a fan of Amazon music. They have fairly good recommendations after you buy a few things as well.

Yup. No DRM. Its rather helpful for loading up my multiple devices. While you are their, you can !

Oh, I lied - I will not endorse iTunes, but I love my iPod Classic 160 GB - bought used on eBay. It has a battered case, but I really will not complain since the description that the seller gave was completely accurate. I am entirely happy with it.

I don't think that I would bother with anything less - my music collection is pretty danged large, mostly from CDs and from Amazon.

Folk, Irish punk, classical, etc..

The Auld Grump

I'd also go with Amazon, for the above reasons as well as the fact that of Amazon's variety of products. It's really a minor thing, only tracking one account for all kinds of purchases, but I find it convenient to use the same account to buy music, apps, books, nose hair trimmers, aardvark tape, etc.

I don't use iTunes for the same reason I don't own a Mac and I dig into the settings on every new Windows system I get: I don't like anyone arbitrarily telling me what I'm not allowed to do with what I own.

Also, DRM is beyond stupid. I just... [edited for length and vitriol] ...Argentina.

I have bought a few mp3's from the Amazon site and have loaded them on multiple players (all my own) with no troubles. I have also played them from a memory card with no problems.

I buy all my music from Amazon nowadays, too. I've used Rhapsody in the past, but had issues with it. Amazon doesn't have everything, but it's got a pretty darn good selection and I don't throw money at the altar of Steve Jobs, so I like it. (yep. I'm a hater. I admit it.)

Another reason I use Amazon is that I like to use Shazam to track down good songs that I hear on the radio or at dance events I'm at and Shazam automatically gives you a link to buy the song on Amazon. That makes it fairly easy for me.

Sounds like amazon is the way to go then, for anything I can't pick up on CD.

I use iTunes because Apple has the patent on a user interface that lets you select by Genre, Artist, Album, Song. No one else in the world can sell a product like that. (Apple has enforced this patent.) I have over 12,000 MP3s so I find it to be a very useful feature.

My music is sorted that way.

I use a program called MP3Tag which can bulk rename my files or take my file names and turn them into tags;


Given a song, I always know where to find it. Typically if you change the name of a song in a program, you're just changing the name in its local database. So some day you'll loose that data base, or heaven forbid you'll move your files, and you'll be forced to manually re-enter everything.

You may also want to use Bulk rename utility to rename all your files.


So... my database is my file system... my tags are derived from my files, Genre\Artist\Album\xx-Song.mp3. I also keep multiple backups.


iTunes aside, I really do like the user interface on iPods. I think they are extremely good, and well worth the little extra they cost.

It has to be limited to a media player program. If not, Apple's patent is invalid in the face of Windows/Linux - which allowed you to do all that before iTunes ever debuted. Only difference is that you had to right click a group of files to add them to a WMP playlist instead of clicking an integrated 'play' button.

Oh, and anybody can sell an imitator - as long as you're selling from a country that doesn't respect IP *cough* china *cough*

I don't begrudge Apple their successes; they make great hardware, and though few of their features are Apple innovations, they've improved on many existing ideas to make a high-quality product (and marketed it well enough that people don't mind paying extra). My only trouble with Apple is the 'DRM mentality.' That is, the overarching mindset that Apple is the only body qualified to be in control of any given process. This outlook (according to a couple former Apple employees I met at a seminar) comes from the way Jobs control-freaked everyone in the building. It extends from hardware production (which has ensured consistently high quality products) through music (they weren't about to trust us not to steal all the music that we, um, already bought) and into programming (ever try to write an iOS app? I have, and the developer's agreements and restrictions make music DRM look like Mother Freedom). As I said, I don't hold success against them; they're doing a great job in many areas. But my philosophical (maybe the wrong term) objections will prevent me from spending any more money on Apple products.

I get mine from amazon as itunes won't reset my password! but I prefere buying cd's when I can get them (some of the ones I want are £50 import for 12 tracks!
I dunno if this is your sort But I just found this album!

That looks like quite the program! I'll have to check that out.