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The Best MP3 Sites

Vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassette tapes and compact discs have all enjoyed popularity as music formats over the past seven decades. However, technology has radically evolved, and the digital MP3 file is now the most popular format. Various websites carry or sell MP3s, both legally and illegally, and Amazon MP3, Napster, the iTunes Store and Dirpy are among the best MP3 sites.

  1. iTunes Store

    • From digital downloads to MP3 players. Apple dominates the industry.

      According to Reuters, iTunes is the number one digital retailer in the world, accounting for 70% of all digital sales as of 2010. The store is built into Apple's iTunes software and can be quickly accessed by clicking the store icon in the iTunes program. Apple's iTunes Store features over 12 million songs in its library. Customers purchase songs and albums with a credit card or by redeeming an iTunes gift card. Purchased songs are instantly downloaded and added to the iTunes library.

    Amazon MP3

    • Although Amazon still sells compact discs, it also features a massive digital library. As of 2010, Amazon MP3 hosts over 11 million songs and 1.1 million albums. Customers purchase songs through Amazon's check out, and all payments are made by credit card, debit card or gift card. Prior to purchase, customers may preview every song and album. A customer can either purchase an entire album instantly, or purchase individual songs. However, individual songs can only be purchased one at a time.

    Napster

    • Napster spawned the digital music revolution, which popularized MP3 players.

      Unlike Amazon MP3 and the iTunes Store, Napster offers digital music through a subscription-based service. Monthly subscription plans start as low as $5 and give customers credit points to purchase songs and albums from a library of over 10 million songs. In addition, Napster offers on-demand service for streaming and listening to music. Napster's annual pass offers the customer a seven-day free trial, along with 60 MP3 downloads per month. One-month and three-month subscription plans are also available.

    Dirpy

    • Users do not download MP3s from a vast library on Dirpy. Instead, users generate and download the audio from their favorite YouTube videos into a custom MP3 file. The process is very simple. The user pastes the video URL onto Dirpy's main page, clicks the "dirpy" button and clicks "download" at the bottom of the page. Dirpy also allows the user to customize the MP3. LifeHacker explains that a user can convert a specific portion of the video's audio. In addition, the user may edit the file's ID3 tag, which identifies the artist, song title, album and year.

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