MP3 downloads?

[bigtomi]

I am a member of Rhapsody and was bummed when they just stopped doing downloads. Does anyone have a good site they use to search for and download MP3s? Doesn't have to be free of charge, obviously. I don't mind paying for them, if the service and quality are good. Any input would be most appreciated!

[BumChex]

I am a member of Rhapsody and was bummed when they just stopped doing downloads. Does anyone have a good site they use to search for and download MP3s? Doesn't have to be free of charge, obviously. I don't mind paying for them, if the service and quality are good. Any input would be most appreciated!

Try Spotify

[Dr Popper]

Try Spotify

You can download Mp3's from there for free?  I thought they banned all of those music sharing sites like Napster?  When I need an occasional song or two for a "best of" CD I just download the song from You Tube and then convert the MP4 to a MP3.

[BumChex]

It's a subscription service. You can download unlimited songs but if you don't pay your songs will not work after 30 days. There is also a Russian site www.gomusicnow.com where songs a pretty cheap.

[Dr Popper]

It's a subscription service. You can download unlimited songs but if you don't pay your songs will not work after 30 days. There is also a Russian site www.gomusicnow.com where songs a pretty cheap.

When you download the songs (with a paid subscription) does it allow you to put the MP3's in your own folder so you own and control the songs like you can with itunes?

[BumChex]

When you download the songs (with a paid subscription) does it allow you to put the MP3's in your own folder so you own and control the songs like you can with itunes?

Not really. You use the Spotify app and it synchs with your iPod. If you have an iPhone iPad you can use the Spotify app and create playlists of your favorite song. I think the service is free if you are always connected to the Internet. I got my kids setup and they all use my account. It's $9.95 a month and with their premium service you have the off line mode. It's actually pretty cool because now I don't have my kids asking for songs every day. You don't really own the song but who care since they move on pretty fast so they don't really care. They get all the newest stuff instantly when it's released. I think this works great for kids but it might not make sense to me since I like to manage my songs through iTunes and such. My understanding Rhapsody was setup the same way as Spotify. All you can eat for $10 a month.

[Dr Popper]

Not really. You use the Spotify app and it synchs with your iPod. If you have an iPhone iPad you can use the Spotify app and create playlists of your favorite song. I think the service is free if you are always connected to the Internet. I got my kids setup and they all use my account. It's $9.95 a month and with their premium service you have the off line mode. It's actually pretty cool because now I don't have my kids asking for songs every day. You don't really own the song but who care since they move on pretty fast so they don't really care. They get all the newest stuff instantly when it's released. I think this works great for kids but it might not make sense to me since I like to manage my songs through iTunes and such. My understanding Rhapsody was setup the same way as Spotify. All you can eat for $10 a month.

It doesn't sound like that would work for me because I still burn my music onto CD's so I can listen to them in my car. 

[Kook]

It doesn't sound like that would work for me because I still burn my music onto CD's so I can listen to them in my car. 

Rob, I don't know what kind of phone you use, or if you have bluetooth/handsfree in the car, but if you can carry your songs on a smartphone or ipod, most support streaming with bluetooth & A2DP. I have my whole library with me, and just stream the music right over my handsfree bluetooth. It works just like an alternate input radio/aux/a2dp, just that it's wireless.

[sco(o)t]

Rob, I don't know what kind of phone you use, or if you have bluetooth/handsfree in the car, but if you can carry your songs on a smartphone or ipod, most support streaming with bluetooth & A2DP. I have my whole library with me, and just stream the music right over my handsfree bluetooth. It works just like an alternate input radio/aux/a2dp, just that it's wireless.

Isn't technology great? People can now walk around with a virtual radio station in their pocket. Far from the old days of trying to record a song onto a portable cassette player from AM radio and hoping the DJ didn't talk all over the end or beginning of the song. We thought we were in heaven when my dad bought a dual cassette deck addition to his modest stereo receiver and turntable setup allowing us to edit our cassette tapes.

[Dr Popper]

Rob, I don't know what kind of phone you use, or if you have bluetooth/handsfree in the car, but if you can carry your songs on a smartphone or ipod, most support streaming with bluetooth & A2DP. I have my whole library with me, and just stream the music right over my handsfree bluetooth. It works just like an alternate input radio/aux/a2dp, just that it's wireless.

I don't think it's my phone that's the issue.  I have an iPhone with bluetooth, but I have a 2004 GMC Envoy XUV that came out prior to the whole iPod in the car thing.  I don't think the stock receiver has a port for the music.  I have an upgraded sound system in the car, but the receiver is stock.  When I eventually get a new car it won't be an issue, but right now I'm enjoying not having a car payment!

[Porkie]

Isn't technology great? People can now walk around with a virtual radio station in their pocket. Far from the old days of trying to record a song onto a portable cassette player from AM radio and hoping the DJ didn't talk all over the end or beginning of the song. We thought we were in heaven when my dad bought a dual cassette deck addition to his modest stereo receiver and turntable setup allowing us to edit our cassette tapes.

I agree but a few things have struck me lately:

(1) Some digital content is not something you "own" in the sense of a CD/cassette. I was thinking about people selling old collections of songs/books the other day and how that eventually won't happen anymore since you have nothing to sell.

(2) Along the same lines, whatever happened with Bruce Willis - I thought I read somewhere he was suing Apple (or similar) because he could not will his music collection to his kids. Again, the stuff being purchased is becoming more and more virtual - which has plusses but also minuses - and I think the minuses are somewhat hidden/disguised.

[BumChex]

I agree but a few things have struck me lately:

(1) Some digital content is not something you "own" in the sense of a CD/cassette. I was thinking about people selling old collections of songs/books the other day and how that eventually won't happen anymore since you have nothing to sell.

(2) Along the same lines, whatever happened with Bruce Willis - I thought I read somewhere he was suing Apple (or similar) because he could not will his music collection to his kids. Again, the stuff being purchased is becoming more and more virtual - which has plusses but also minuses - and I think the minuses are somewhat hidden/disguised.

True, physical media is a thing of the past. I've been buying movies off iTunes now instead of DVD's and Blu-Ray discs because I can watch them on all my devices. The only drawback is if my kids want to take a movie over to a friends house. If that house has Apple TV they are set but the odds of that are zero to one.
I'm personally tired of disc cases everywhere. I gave all my CD's to a neighbor as I already had them in iTunes. The nucklehead took them to the pawn shop and got $250 for them. Such is life.
One thing that a person could do is burn their collection to CD's or create MP3 CD's to give to their kids. All your MP3's should be DRM free now.
I just thought of something---Can you buy a movie from iTunes and burn it to DVD? I'm going to have to look into that.

[Dr Popper]

True, physical media is a thing of the past. I've been buying movies off iTunes now instead of DVD's and Blu-Ray discs because I can watch them on all my devices. The only drawback is if my kids want to take a movie over to a friends house. If that house has Apple TV they are set but the odds of that are zero to one.
I'm personally tired of disc cases everywhere. I gave all my CD's to a neighbor as I already had them in iTunes. The nucklehead took them to the pawn shop and got $250 for them. Such is life.
One thing that a person could do is burn their collection to CD's or create MP3 CD's to give to their kids. All your MP3's should be DRM free now.
I just thought of something---Can you buy a movie from iTunes and burn it to DVD? I'm going to have to look into that.

So if you buy a movie from iTunes how do you watch it on your big screen TV?  Does it link to your blu-ray player?

[BumChex]

So if you buy a movie from iTunes how do you watch it on your big screen TV?  Does it link to your blu-ray player?

I use Apple TV. It works great.

[sco(o)t]

I use Apple TV. It works great.

My biggest concern with all the cloud and iTunes access is that if you have an Internet Service Provider that has limits on your monthly download acounts, it doesn't take many Hi-Def movies to eat that up pretty fast. Is Apple TV a purely streaming service or is there an option to down load the movie and watch at a later time? Some services allow extra off-peak hours capacity on their plans.

[Kook]

I don't think it's my phone that's the issue.  I have an iPhone with bluetooth, but I have a 2004 GMC Envoy XUV that came out prior to the whole iPod in the car thing.  I don't think the stock receiver has a port for the music.  I have an upgraded sound system in the car, but the receiver is stock.  When I eventually get a new car it won't be an issue, but right now I'm enjoying not having a car payment!

Before I had a car with bluetooth, I used to use my GPS. My garmin supported streaming audio. Not as good as the sound system, but better than nothing. I think other manufacturers have a bluetooth handsfree kit for a couple hundred dollars that will work with any car. I think Best Buy has a few & they do the install.

Another option - many car audio systems have an AUX input. I think you can buy a cable to adapt your iphone to output stereo audio. Just pick AUX as the input & you have a jukebox in the car.

[Jean Nutty]

I’ve had two PC’s crash over the last decade (they were not backed up), and have lost several hundred songs I purchased on iTunes. I have considered them a total loss – am I correct I can’t get them back? My iPod also crashed, so I can't pull the music off of it. I’ve also lost 10 years of family photos. I need to get my stuff on a cloud!      headslap,    duh     

[BumChex]

My biggest concern with all the cloud and iTunes access is that if you have an Internet Service Provider that has limits on your monthly download acounts, it doesn't take many Hi-Def movies to eat that up pretty fast. Is Apple TV a purely streaming service or is there an option to down load the movie and watch at a later time? Some services allow extra off-peak hours capacity on their plans.

You can download them to your computer and have iTunes running. Then you can stream from your computer to AppleTV through your home network. You can also stream directly from Apple.
With Apple TV you can also stream from your iPad and iPhone. You can also mirror those devices to see them on your big screen. You can also play games using the iPhone and iPad as a controller with Airplay. Not all games work this way so do a search for Airplay games.
Apple TV is only $99.
You can also stream all your music from iTunes to your Apple TV to run through your home theater. If you sign up for Apples music match you can stream your whole library to your Apple TV, iPhone, & iPad.

[BumChex]

I’ve had two PC’s crash over the last decade (they were not backed up), and have lost several hundred songs I purchased on iTunes. I have considered them a total loss – am I correct I can’t get them back? My iPod also crashed, so I can't pull the music off of it. I’ve also lost 10 years of family photos. I need to get my stuff on a cloud!      headslap,    duh     

Yes, if you purchased a song through iTunes you need to use that same account to download your songs again for free. I would also recommend signing up for their Music Match service then all your songs will be in the cloud regardless if you purchased them from iTunes or not. You can re-download them at any time. I have over 10K songs in the Music Match cloud.
I would also recommend getting an external HD for redundant backup and then sign up for a cloud based backup service in case you have an electrical issue that blows up all your electronics or a fire. I use Carbonite. I think I paid around $120 for 3 years and it backs up my whole computer in the background.

[Crakola Crayons]

I have been a member of emusic.com for about six years.  You pre-pay a certain amount each month and then have 30 days to use that money to download.  If you don't spend all your cash, you do lose it.  They did, however, just start an ala cart method for non-subscribers - kind of more in line with iTunes prices on things.  Subscribers get a decent savings though (almost half price per track in some instances - the lowest track prices are 49 cents for subscribers).

[BumChex]

I have been a member of emusic.com for about six years.  You pre-pay a certain amount each month and then have 30 days to use that money to download.  If you don't spend all your cash, you do lose it.  They did, however, just start an ala cart method for non-subscribers - kind of more in line with iTunes prices on things.  Subscribers get a decent savings though (almost half price per track in some instances - the lowest track prices are 49 cents for subscribers).

I tried emusic a couple years ago and they never had anything good. Everything was old. Have they changed? Do they get new releases by big bands now?

[Crakola Crayons]

I tried emusic a couple years ago and they never had anything good. Everything was old. Have they changed? Do they get new releases by big bands now?

Brad, they picked up a lot of major labels in recent years and they also continue to have tons of new releases as well.  You might want to check them out again.  I find their prices to often better than iTunes (especially as a subscriber).

[Duznt]

[quote author=Kook link=topic=2753.msg55401#msg55401ate=13613885


Another option - many car audio systems have an AUX input. I think you can buy a cable to adapt your iphone to output stereo audio. Just pick AUX as the input & you have a jukebox in the car.
[/quote]

If you don't have an aux input, and your receiver has a cassette player, get one of those cassette adapter thingies that have the audio cable on it, and plug it into the ipod headphone jack (if ipods have a headphone jack)

[Dr Popper]

[quote author=Kook link=topic=2753.msg55401#msg55401ate=13613885


Another option - many car audio systems have an AUX input. I think you can buy a cable to adapt your iphone to output stereo audio. Just pick AUX as the input & you have a jukebox in the car.


If you don't have an aux input, and your receiver has a cassette player, get one of those cassette adapter thingies that have the audio cable on it, and plug it into the ipod headphone jack (if ipods have a headphone jack)

But how are those options as far as quality loss goes?  I think I recall the cassette converter deal is equal to cassette audio quality, which is far worse than CD quality.

Any idea if the MP3 inputs in the newer cars are equal to CD quality?
 

[BumChex]

But how are those options as far as quality loss goes?  I think I recall the cassette converter deal is equal to cassette audio quality, which is far worse than CD quality.

Any idea if the MP3 inputs in the newer cars are equal to CD quality?
 

Why not put an after market radio in your vehicle?

[Jean Nutty]

Any idea if the MP3 inputs in the newer cars are equal to CD quality?
 

I have some music on a thumbdrive (backup for an old iPod that crashed), and realized about 6 months ago the relatively new stereo I have in my car has a USB port next to the volume control knob. The USB port has it's own channel, like the radio and CD player. I'm not a big audiophile, but it sounds great to me. Equal the quality when I listen to CD's on the same system.

[RawGoo]

But how are those options as far as quality loss goes?  I think I recall the cassette converter deal is equal to cassette audio quality, which is far worse than CD quality.

Any idea if the MP3 inputs in the newer cars are equal to CD quality?
 

My car has an AUX input by the radio and CD player, and with a Radio Shack cord to an MP3 player it sounds really good.

As for cassettes, when I had cassette players in my previous cars, they sounded crummy with a commercial cassette, but when I made a cassette from a CD onto a decent grade TDK tape through my home stereo and equalizer, those sounded darn good.  Once I bought that home system and started making my own tapes, I never bought another commercial cassette again, just CDs.  The dual deck is still in the rack, but since I got my newest car 4+ years ago, I don't use it at all.

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

Any idea if the MP3 inputs in the newer cars are equal to CD quality?

not sure what you're asking? since by definition mp3 is a lossy compression method and usually inferior to the cd it came from

[Dr Popper]

not sure what you're asking? since by definition mp3 is a lossy compression method and usually inferior to the cd it came from

Well, there is no doubt quality loss with an MP3, but it can be minimized by a higher bit rate.  But you are reminding me of one of my apprehensions about switching to listening to music in my car with an iPod vs a CD.  I don't believe an MP3 can sound as good as a CD because too much information is removed when it is compressed. 

I definitely notice the difference from a song that is taken from You Tube and one from a CD.  The CD sounds crisper and more "open", where the MP3 has a "muffled" sound.