MP3 Explosion!
by David Yi
Nowadays consumers are finding it easier and more cost-efficient to download their music, and MP3 players have become the bee's knees for holding a vast library of downloaded songs with top-quality sound. Therefore, the Lever has compiled a list of the top MP3 sites and players.
iTunes Music Store: itunes.com
This site is user friendly and thrilling many because of its wide selection. The site has more than 400,000 songs and is fully supported by the music industry. About 240,000 songs are offered by all of the major music labels and more than 200 independent labels. The music is permanently downloaded and can be burned an unlimited number of times onto CDs and iPod. It can also be shared with up to three different PCs, and playlists can be burned up to ten times.
Single songs: 99 cents
Most albums: $9.99
BuyMusic.com: BuyMusic.com
Windows has made a music downloading site in response to Mac's iTunes. This only works with Windows, so if you have Internet Explorer 5.0 or better, you can find more than 300,000 songs from all the major and independent labels. However, the site is not as user friendly as the iTunes Music Store and doesn't have a separate music player for it.
Single songs: 79 cents
Most albums: About $10
Napster 2.0: napster.com
After many lawsuits and economic downfalls, this once popular music site is back. Now that it is legit, it is owned by Roxio and supports both Windows XP or 2000 and requires Microsoft's Windows Media Player 7.1 or better. This site lets you to download and listen to the songs for an unlimited amount of time. Plus, it includes commercial free radio with a paid subscription of $9.95 a month. It also offers the most songs: 500,000 from all major and independent record labels. Napster, like iTunes, also comes with its own music player, the Samsung YP910GS.
Single songs: 99 cents
Most Albums: About $10
