We all love music and there is so much of it that no one person could possibly keep up with it all. Much of the new music we hear has to be discovered somewhere, they aren’t overnight sensations or walk-off rockstars. So where do music lovers turn when we want to find new artists and music? Today we highlight some of those options.
All of the websites we’ve chosen offer free downloads, some with an easier interface than others and some with greater selection. Each has their own methods of promoting the music available through their sites and our recommendations are based on ease of use for listeners which could potentially be worth noting for artists looking to join one of these music communities.
PureVolume
PureVolume was featured in a recent ‘Nifty Websites Collection’ and are our first pick. We are pleased with their presentation and ease of navigation. With a single click visitors can reach what they’re looking for. PureVolume offers both songs and albums for download when available. PureVolume adds iTunes and Amazon music buttons for purchase and many ways to share the music you find. Visitors can create accounts, playlists and favorites all from within the site. The Facebook integration is well done and alerts visitors to what others are sharing. PureVolume promotes a sense of community by enabling registered users to upload photos and share comments.
Visit PureVolume
mp3.com
Our second choice is mp3.com. While not as organized as PureVolume in terms of finding music or artists, mp3.com does make finding free music and top downloads simple. What mp3.com lacks in presentation and organization it makes up for in variety and information. From what we could tell, mp3.com has a broader selection of artists and their music from around the globe. Mp3.com also offers a lot of articles on the industry, artists and the music scene overall.
Visit mp3.com
Artistdirect
Much like PureVolume, Artist direct has an integrated social platform to allow for Facebook comments and likes to be displayed with the music and videos, similar to the YouTube style format. Artist direct offers well known artists like Coldplay as well as the up and coming new artists. The navigation is adequate and finding downloads, videos and music is fairly smooth. Artist direct offers more video than our previous two selections, but it comes at a price. The site seems cluttered at times and thus makes it hard to find exactly what one wants. Aside from that, we could do with a tone down of the ads and more focus on presentation of new artists and social integration.
Visit Artist direct
audiostreet.net
Audiostreet.net is our final selection. With the others we were either impressed with the navigation and presentation or felt a tweak or two would make for a more simplified experience for users. Our first instinct was to navigate away from the homepage of Audiostreet. It is simply too busy. There is so much going on that it’s hard to concentrate on any one section of the page. Having said that, the important thing is the music. Audiostreet has a number of genres as do our other selections, but we were impressed with the volume of genres offered by Audiostreet. Unlike the others, there seems to be no easy way to find their downloadable content. Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be a great quantity of downloadable material. Some things we did like about Audiostreet were the listing of events and lyric display for some of the songs. If Audiostreet focuses more on those two items and improves the layout, they could be a top pick in the future.
Visit Audiostreet
Final Thoughts
While we did find some shortcomings among the choices, they all offer what they claim to. Online listening with downloadable music. Our opinion may not match yours so we encourage you to visit each site to find the one that’s right for you.
Your Thoughts
Do you use any of these services and if so how do you rate them? Did we miss a favorite listening spot of yours? Let us know in the comments!
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