The 6 Best Online Music Sites for Downloading Songs of 2021

Building a music collection has never been so easy

by

Updated on December 08, 2020

Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.

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.

Something to bear in mind is 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 there are services like Amazon Music and Emusic that allow you to download albums a-la-carte, there are still a variety of restrictions on how it can be distributed. For instance, Emusic only allows you to download a song once per purchase.

While this may sound a bit oppressive, subscribing to a streaming service is a convenient way to access music just about anywhere, and in most cases are a better alternative to maintaining a vast physical music library.

An illustration of a woman listening to music on her computer from different providers. — 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

iTunes

Chesnot / Getty Images

What We Like

Available on platforms outside of Apple devices.
User-friendly, browser-like interface.
iCloud interface makes music available on all your devices.

What We Don't Like

No free music.
Runs slowly on a computer.

Many music fans regard Apple's iTunes as the internet's premier destination to buy music online. iTunes offers built-in support for syncing music to your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices.

iTunes is more than just an online music service; other sub-stores offer music videos, audiobooks, movies, and free podcasts, not to mention all the apps available in the App Store.

Apple announced in June 2019 that iTunes is being broken into separate pieces for separate uses. Music, podcasts, and television will have their own apps when everything switches to the Catalina Mac operating system. The iTunes Store will remain, as will the music that people bought from it.

02

of 06

Amazon Music

Chesnot / Getty Images

What We Like

Stores purchases in cloud music locker.
Songs come in MP3 format.
More than 30 million tracks.
Competitively priced.

What We Don't Like

Not available as widely as other services.
Smaller catalog of songs than iTunes.
Downloader software needed for album downloads.

Amazon Music has become 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 iTunes Store alternative.

03

of 06

Spotify

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, too. 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 was shut down due to copyright violations). Today's Napster offers two personal subscription options: unRadio is $4.99 per month, while the Premier subscription has additional features for $9.99 per month. Napster also has a business music service called SoundMachine, which offers several subscription plans.

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 that provides a library of more than 32 million music titles, all 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 (ranges from $10 to $30).

06

of 06

7digital

7 Digital

What We Like

Download up to 320 Kbps high-quality MP3s.
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 not only music tracks, but also 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.

Audio Streaming

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Tell us why!