Software & Apps > Apps The 6 Best Music Sites for Downloading Songs of 2023 Building a music collection has never been so easy By Mark Harris Mark Harris Writer University of Wolverhampton Mark Harris is a former writer for Lifewire who wrote about the digital music scene and streaming music services in an easy to understand, no-nonsense manner. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 10, 2023 Reviewed by Jon Fisher Reviewed by Jon Fisher Wichita Technical Institute Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apps Best Apps Payment Services Unless you're a vinyl connoisseur, odds are your physical music collection is pretty sparse. And unless you've managed to keep your iPod from giving up the ghost, you probably aren't exactly swimming in MP3s either. Thankfully music streaming services, for better or worse, have managed to fill that gap, putting a virtually limitless supply of music at your fingertips. Remember that while you can download and cache songs on your computer or mobile device, you technically won't own any of the music you download. While services like Amazon Music and Emusic allow you to download albums a la carte, there are still a variety of restrictions. For instance, Emusic only lets you download a song once per purchase. While this may sound oppressive, subscribing to a streaming service is convenient for accessing music anywhere. In most cases, they are a better alternative to maintaining a vast physical music library. Lifewire / Grace Kim Here are six of the best music sites for downloading songs. Downloading music for free from disreputable sites is not only illegal, but also unethical. Support the musicians who make the music you love by purchasing their art legally. 01 of 06 Apple Music Apple What We Like Available on platforms outside of Apple devices User-friendly interface Over 100 million songs What We Don't Like No free music Lossless audio not available on a PC Apple Music is a streaming music service that allows song and album downloads for offline listening. It also includes lossless audio and Dolby Atmos support. A family membership allows six people to share an account; all plans are ad-free. 02 of 06 Amazon Music Chesnot / Getty Images What We Like Stores purchases in cloud music locker Songs come in MP3 format More than 90 million tracks Competitively priced What We Don't Like Smaller catalog of songs than Apple Music Downloader software needed for album downloads Amazon Music is one of the largest stores for buying music online. With many songs and albums retailing at a very competitive level in the digital music market, Amazon Music is worth a look as an Apple Music alternative. 03 of 06 Spotify Chesnot / Getty Images What We Like Fun and easy to create playlists Share playlists with others Imports iTunes and Windows Music libraries What We Don't Like Advanced features require Spotify subscription Can't sync playlists to more than three devices Even though Spotify is essentially a streaming music service, its Offline mode qualifies it as a music download service. In this mode, download and listen to thousands of songs without an internet connection. 04 of 06 Napster Napster, LLC What We Like Browser-based listening on Windows PC and Mac Use search results to generate downloadable playlists What We Don't Like No free membership level Nothing sets it apart from other music services Small music library Gone are Napster's days as a file-sharing service (which shut down due to copyright violations). Today's Napster offers two personal subscription options: individual and family (up to 6 accounts). 05 of 06 eMusic All Media Guide, LLC What We Like Unlimited cloud storage and access to entire library Use on up to 10 devices Web accessible What We Don't Like No current major-label hits Only one download per song allowed eMusic is a subscription-based service with a library of over 32 million music titles from independent artists. The big plus about eMusic is that all songs are DRM-free; you get a set amount to download and keep every month, depending on your subscription level (ranging from $10 to $30). 06 of 06 7digital 7 Digital What We Like Hi-Res/FLAC downloads available Free digital locker What We Don't Like Not all tracks are DRM-free Smaller selection than other players 7digital is a media service that provides music tracks, videos, audiobooks, soundtracks, and a selection of free MP3 downloads. Its digital locker stores all purchased tracks safely in case you need to download them again. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit