Where to legally buy mp3 music?

[Captain Holly]

I am looking for a good web site to legally purchase music files in mp3 format, and thought I would ask here if anyone knows a good legitimate site. I had an account on mp3million.com but apparently they are unable to accept my credit card now. MP3million is in Russia, I am in the USA and my credit cards no longer allow transactions in Russia. I used to use Itunes, but that was a very long time ago, I have no idea if Itunes is still a viable option. Amazon is expensive but I have bought a few songs there in the last few years. I would like to find a reputable legitimate site to legally buy mp3's as cheap as possible. I appreciate any insight you might have on this.

Thanks.

C.H.

 

[Captain Holly]

I will update my own post here. I contacted my credit card today and they whitelisted the mp3million retail site for me. The card still declined, even after multiple attempts and two more calls to the credit card. I read as much as I could find about this online and I think it has to have something to do with the current sanctions and political/economic/online crime situation going on in Russia now. As much as I liked mp3million I think it is best to not do any more business with the site. The balance in my account there is very low now and when it hits zero, I will close the account and probably use Amazon if there is an album or song that I want to buy. I have not used Itunes in years but may even check them out to see what it is like now too.

C.H.

 

[SumTingWong]

Qobuz

 

[Captain Holly]

Thanks for the info, I never heard of Quobuz before. I checked it out and it is more than what I need. I just listen to mp3's on my laptop with Groove Music or on my phone through the Samsung Music app with my wired Sony earbuds. Quobuz would be way too high end for me and my hearing is bad enough that I will not hear much difference in an expensive FLAC file. I don't really buy that many albums lately but I am still old school and I want the opportunity to buy and own the album when one is released that I really do like, or if I want to add to my collection.

Spotify is ok but I always thought $10.00 a month is too much to pay for music you don't actually own. I understand a lot of people now just stream music anyway, and it may be time for me to get on the streaming platform myself. I have tried Spotify before and really could not understand it, but may try it again. I use Pandora Plus for online radio, or when they get too repetitive I use Iheart Plus. Sometimes I listen to Melodic Rock Radio online but their sound quality is not that great, even with my busted ears.

Thanks.

C.H.

 

[Captain Holly]

I got a trial offer for 3 months of Spotify Premium for $9.99. I am trying it out here, searching and playing a few obscure songs on it. The sound quality is very good, I use the Dolby equalizer in my laptop to make it sound better and the library is huge. I have been on Spotify before and thought it a nice touch that it still remembered some of my preferences and liked songs. I just need to learn how it works and assimilate it better this time. I know it is possible to add my own local library to Spotify, I need to figure out how to do that. i may try Deezer at some point too.

I guess this is the way to experience music in the 21st century. I have read and heard musicians on some sites say how they don't really feel the desire to write or promote albums because no one buys albums now, we just stream everything. If I really like an album, I will buy a copy of it, but there are very few new bands now that play what I like to hear. When I do buy an mp3 album or rip a CD to MP3 I also use a freeware program MP3Gain to adjust the recording levels to cut out any clipping and normalize the volume on all the tracks. I can't do that on streamed content. I still think $10.00 every month is too much to pay for music I don't own, but the complete service packages on Spotify and the other streaming platforms is probably still worth it. I just need to get used to it.

C.H.

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

Why mp3 go for lossless flac

 

[Captain Holly]

I don't see a need for FLAC files mostly because I can not hear the difference between a cheap mp3 at 256 kbps vbr and a high-end FLAC file. My hearing is not that good now. I also don't know if my laptop will even play a FLAC file. I know the radio in my car won't play FLAC files.

C.H.

 

[Aleeyen]

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I don't see a need for FLAC files mostly because I can not hear the difference between a cheap mp3 at 256 kbps vbr and a high-end FLAC file. My hearing is not that good now. I also don't know if my laptop will even play a FLAC file. I know the radio in my car won't play FLAC files.

C.H.

Yes, unless you have a good listening device you won't notice any difference.
High bitrate MP3s like 256 Kbps+ are quite good for listening and if you are listening to old songs then there is really no difference.

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

I don't see a need for FLAC files mostly because I can not hear the difference between a cheap mp3 at 256 kbps vbr and a high-end FLAC file. My hearing is not that good now. I also don't know if my laptop will even play a FLAC file. I know the radio in my car won't play FLAC files.

C.H.

I bet it's bad headphones but anyway if you feel it's sufficient then great more storage I guess

 

[Captain Holly]

The main problem is my ears. I have been tested and can not hear much of anything above about 10 khz. My high frequency hearing is gone. I have trouble with midrange too, I have a very hard time hearing clearly between about 4 or 4500 hz to around 6000 or 6500 hz. I also have a very bad case of permanent tinnitus that limits my ability to hear. I do wear hearing aids, they help but can not replace natural hearing. I have tried listening to CD quality files and straight CD music on a good stereo system. It was no better than the sound I get from MP3 files played here on my laptop with my $30.00 Sony Extra Bass ear buds. So I really don't see a need to pay for expensive audio gear and FLAC files that take up too much space to begin with.

C.H.

 

[Nevi]

I am looking for a good web site to legally purchase music files in mp3 format, and thought I would ask here if anyone knows a good legitimate site. I had an account on mp3million.com but apparently they are unable to accept my credit card now. MP3million is in Russia, I am in the USA and my credit cards no longer allow transactions in Russia. I used to use Itunes, but that was a very long time ago, I have no idea if Itunes is still a viable option. Amazon is expensive but I have bought a few songs there in the last few years. I would like to find a reputable legitimate site to legally buy mp3's as cheap as possible. I appreciate any insight you might have on this.

Thanks.

Have you tried to look here?

Best sites to buy MP3 music

Looking for an alternative to streaming services? Here are CNET's favorite sites for buying your own MP3s.

www.cnet.com