How to Listen to Music on the Web

When I was a boy, I had to walk ten miles to the record store, uphill both ways. Of course, all this changed with the advent of music downloading.

Admittedly, I was, at first, reluctant to make the CD-to-MP3 shift. I enjoy the sense of community that comes from browsing the racks with a group of friendly strangers, discreetly glancing at their choices so as to judge their worth as human beings. I also enjoy owning a tangible piece of music, complete with album art, liner notes, receipt and a mounted photo of myself at the cash register, holding up my purchase like a freshly caught bass.

Still, shopping from home does have its advantages: people don't stare at you when you buy Michael Jackson's Dangerous while wearing a fedora and a single glove, or when you purchase Madonna's The Immaculate Collection in a homemade conical boob bustier. Plus, downloading sites provide access to obscure music from all over. You can hear an unsigned Compton rapper from a computer in Paris without worrying that your French-flag T-shirt features conflicting gang colours.

So, for those ready to embrace this new form of music consumption, here are a few good pay services, as well as some legal sites that offer promotional freebies. Sure, you could join a sketchy file-sharing network, but remember, downloading is the opposite of sex: doing it for free is usually illegal and is actually more likely to leave you with an unwanted virus. Besides, it's not cool to take music without an artist's permission. When was the last time Bono stole anything from you?

iTunes

Song selection: About one million tracks. Most of these are standard commercial fare. You might have trouble finding Appalachian yodeling or a Yiddish version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club."
Ease of use: The search engine shoots with a sniper's accuracy. You can narrow your quest to include artist, song, album, genre and composer. You can also browse by artist, album, genre and sub-genre.
Appearance: Pretty enough to be prom queen.
Download speed (per song, with broadband connection): About 20 seconds.
Cost: Ninety-nine cents per song, with albums from $9.99.
Additional features: iTunes offers exclusive tracks, podcasts (free downloadable radio broadcasts), free weekly tracks, regional radio charts, and, for all you Ink Spots fans, Billboard charts dating back to 1946. There are also celebrity playlists: Did you know that Andrew Lloyd Webber likes Eminem, or that Bobby Brown is the one person who actually still listens to Bobby Brown?

eMusic
Song selection: 600,000 tracks from scores of cool indie labels, including Matador, Vice and 4AD.
Ease of use: The search engine can look up album, artist, composer, song or label. You can also browse by artist, label, composer, decade, genre and region.
Appearance: A bare-bones site with few large pictures. Still, it looks better after a couple of drinks.
Download speed: About 25 seconds.
Cost: A monthly subscription ranges from $9.99 for 40 downloads to $19.99 for 90. Plus, committing for a year knocks an additional 20 percent off the price. The site also offers newcomers 50 free trial downloads.
Additional features: Message boards, members' ratings and editors' picks.

Napster

Song selection: Over 700,000 songs, including a decent selection of indie music. While you're not going to find Neutral Milk Hotel, there is Quasimoto, Damien Jurado, and, of course, Mariah Carey's every bowel movement.
Ease of use: You can search by album, artist or track, and, if you're nosey, you can check out other members' collections. You can also browse by artist, album, label, genre and sub-genre.
Appearance: Let's just say, if you were a website and you saw Napster at a bar, you'd probably walk up and be like, "Hey, hot stuff, what you drinkin'?'"
Download speed: About 30 seconds.
Cost: For a $9.95 monthly fee, you can access Napster's entire catalogue on your PC. Throw in another five bucks and you can transfer this music to a compatible MP3 player. For those with a fear of commitment, non-subscribers can download tracks for $1.19. Napster also offers a free seven-day trial membership.
Additional features: Message boards; commercial-free radio stations to stream; artist pictures, bios and discographies; reviews; and over 50 years of Billboard charts. Unfortunately, you can only access your library while you are a member. Joining Napster is like dating someone with a big music collection - as soon as you break up, you're back listening to those crappy Color Me Badd CDs you bought in grade six. Plus, Napster doesn't play well with others; the service isn't compatible with some MP3 players, including the iPod.

betterPropaganda

Song selection: Hundreds of indie-rock, hip-hop and electronic tracks from labels like Arts & Crafts, Ninja Tune, Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop.
Ease of use: betterPropaganda has a search bar and alphabetical artist, label and new-release lists.
Appearance: A little cluttered, but hey, at least it has a good personality.
Download speed: About 15 seconds.
Cost: Free.
Additional features: Staff favourites, reviews, interviews, pre-release track and five radio stations to stream. While it's a good tool for finding new music, betterPropaganda only offers one or two tracks per artist. They aren't Santa Claus - there's a limit to their generosity.

Insound

Song selection: This online record store offers hundreds of indie-rock downloads from usual suspects like Sub Pop, Three Gut and Secretly Canadian.
Ease of use: You can search by label, album, artist and song, or browse artists alphabetically.
Appearance: For those who enjoy seeing dazed young girls posing in a T-shirt and tube socks in some creepy guy's basement, Insound is packed with American Apparel ads.
Download speed: At about 50 seconds, it's still quicker than opening one of those damn CD wrappers.
Cost: Free.
Additional features: Features links to cool 'zines like The Believer, PitchforkMedia.com and Impose. Still, you only get one or two songs per artist. If you want charity, try the Salvation Army.

This story was originally published in the September 15, 2005 edition of the WestEnder.

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Got any other ideas about how to listen to music on the web? Good or bad experiences to share?