Top 7 MP3 Music Download Sites Reviewed - Find Out Where To Get Free Music Downloads

There are so many websites out there to download music, but which one is the best? I don't want to spend too much time on each one, just a couple of things to point out that I came across while evaluating each one of these methods for downloading MP3's. So take 5 minutes of you time and read through this article and see which one is right for you. You won't be disappointed.

Monthly Fees Apply to These

Let's start with the 3 most popular that everyone knows about- I-Tunes, Napster, Rhapsody, and eMusic.

i-Tunes- I liken i-Tunes to AOL 10-12 years ago. Everyone used AOL as their ISP, just because they didn't know better. Other ISP's took you to the same internet for less than half the price. Once people caught on and realized this they started using other ISP's. Same thing with i-Tunes. They were kind of the first legitimate music download site. Sure they have a few extra bells and whistles that other music download sites don't have. But do you really want to pay more for the same MP3's you could get else where? A lot of people are abandoning i-Tunes these days for less expensive alternatives. I did, and I'm glad I did. $.99/per track.

Napster- the once proud home of FREE MP3 downloads. Until Metalica went before congress and ruined it for all of us. Gone are the days of FREE MP3's. So if that is what you are looking for, forget about it. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE MP3'S. If you find something out there promising this, be careful, it's probably illegal, so shame on you. Anyway Napster had to reinvent themselves and now you pay for their service. It's ok, I guess, but I like others better. $12.95/month

Rhapsody- I really like Rhapsody and it has many loyal users, I used it for many years myself. It's easy to use, they have a pretty good selection and by far the best search utility to help you find the music you are looking for. If you're just looking for MUSIC Downloads, this is a pretty good way to go. The only downside is the monthly fees you have to keep dishing out. $12.99 for Rhapsody, and $12.99 if you want to get Real Player Plus. It was just announced recently that Rhapsody will acquire Yahoo! Music, so it should be interesting to see what benefit that will bring th Rhapsody users.

The following have the option of 1 year, 2 year, or lifetime memberships. No monthly fees apply.

These 2 are almost identical. Mostly the same features, software is almost the same to use. Some have more files available for downloading, but all in all pretty much the same thing, when it comes down to it.

Unlimitedmp3downloads.com
Liftetime membership $34.94

MP3Download.net
Liftetime membership $34.95

My Top 2 Favorites by Far:

Zune
300 Million files- This one is really popular right now. Tons of new registrations each day.
Liftetime membership $34.95 for MP3
Liftetime membership $49.95 for video and MP3

The best thing about this one is the free bonuses you get. Free DVD/CD copying software (make backup's of your favorite DVD's, a must if you have kids like me that destroy things), free spyware/adware/pop-up blocker/ antivirus software and personal firewall. $245 in bonus software. With all the security risks today, if you're online a lot like I am you need these tools to protect your computer. They are all yours free when you register with Zune Empire. you really can't beat that! Even if you never used the MP3 software, it's worth it just get all that other software free.

K-Lite
800 Million songs and videos. Can you even get your head around that number. Talk about a selection!
No monthly fees, unlimited downloads, no spyware or adware (this is very important- some MP3 sites out there will give you real cheap access, but then flood your computer with spyware and adware. Trust me, you don't want that.
Liftetime membership $39.95 for MP3
DVD Backup Software $9.95
DVD Quality Movie Downloads $9.95

This is a little more expensive than the others ($5.00 for Music, $19.90 for Movies and CD/DVD software) but the price is worth it when it comes to the selection and ease of use. If you don't want the other two pieces of software, this is the best one. If you really got have that software, go with Zune Empire for $49.95.

The last 4 companies listed here are all pretty much the same thing/same price. It's just a matter of personal preference. Having tried them all, I would highly recommend either of the last two- Zune Empire or K-Lite. They have the biggest selection, most features, and best customer support. You really can't go wrong for $34.95. That is less than what I would pay to take my wife out to dinner at someplace half way decent.

The bottom line is, if you're like me, you probably invested $200-$400 on a decent MP3 player. You want to get the most out of it- Music, Videos, Movies, etc. Scrounge up the $34.95 or $49.95 if you want videos, and invest in some software that will let you use your MP3 player for what it was intended for. You'll be glad you did.

Chris McCann is the founder of Shop4CoolStuff A website dedicated to helping you find the very best mp3 music sites on the Internet. You can sign up for free trials or pay one time for life memberships at http://www.shop4coolstuff.com/top8mp3.html

Free Sources of Legal Music Downloads

With the controversy and legal issues that have plagued music download sites since their beginning, it seems like there are no good, legitimate sites for free and legal music downloads. Many sites either offer you music that they are not legally allowed to distribute, or they give you some nasty surprises when you use them: spyware, adware, and other ugly little add-ons.

Believe it or not, there are still several ways to get quality, legal music downloads for free. You won't always be able to get the entire album and many free resources only offer downloads for relatively unknown artists. But if you're willing to try something new and don't mind only getting a sample of the music you want, you'll have plenty of options for finding free music downloads.

GarageBand lets you download music from unknown artists who are hoping to make it big. You know that the music is legal to download because it is provided directly by the artists themselves. They are not signed to a label so there's no worry about the label owning the rights to their songs.

Because the bands are unsigned, the majority of them will be new to you. GarageBand is certainly not the place to go if you want to build up your music library with perennial favorites or up-and-coming bands you heard on the radio but if you're looking for new and unique music that you probably won't hear anywhere else, this site is perfect.

Amazon has a surprisingly friendly and easy-to-use free download section. They offer a small selection of free songs that are changed often. They are frequently by well-known artists who you already love.

The best part is that Amazon's downloads are DRM-free, meaning that you can play the songs with any compatible software and on any MP3 player. You can use these songs to burn CDs, also. The free downloads are yours to keep, and you can snag as many of them as you like. The bad news is that there are only a few songs available at any time, and it may be a while before new ones are posted.

eMusic is another well-known site for music downloads that most of us are already aware of. They don't exactly hand out free downloads, but they do give you 25 free MP3s during a one-month trial membership. If you sign up for an eMusic membership, you'll have access to over two million songs. You can choose any of these for your 25 free downloads, and they're yours to keep. Even if you decide you don't want to continue your membership, you get to keep the free songs without ever paying a penny.There are plenty of other sources out there some giving you full albums and some providing only a few songs. The most important thing is to make sure that the songs are provided legally and that you aren't violating US laws by having them.

Most sites will give you information on the subject of their legality somewhere on the site. If they don't, it's usually possible to get the necessary information from other sources on the internet. Just perform an internet search for that site to see what has been said about it elsewhere. If you can't find any information about the legality of a certain site's free downloads and it looks questionable, the best thing to do is to avoid it. Free music isn't worth the legal problems that it will cause if you don't do it according to the applicable laws.

To find out more information about legal music download sites visit reviewmusicdownloads.com

How To Optimize Online Videos For Search Engine Optimization

Online videos are, in comparison to an article, devoid of the common search engine optimization techniques that most webmasters take advantage of. You can't exactly target specific keywords with a video- or any at all- since search engines can't crawl a video's content.

But before you give up on online video marketing altogether, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All you need is three things: creativity, a determined mindset, and the perseverance needed to succeed in online video marketing.

Why Market With Online Videos, Anyhow?

You're probably asking yourself why anyone would want to market with a video, if they don't carry the SEO benefit of a lengthy article. The simple answer: every forthcoming generation has an increasingly decreased attention span of the one before it. You'll notice that fewer and fewer Internet users prefer a good read over a flashy video that can achieve the same thing in less time and with more entertainment.

Online videos also offer a one on one perspective with the service or product that the video is in relation to. What strikes you as more compelling: a Super Bowl ad, or a billboard on the side of the road? Of course the Super Bowl ad would influence a decision more, as a direct result of the persuasion that comes from sound, movement, and of course those subliminal messages that commercial creators love to use.

So How Do I Optimize My Online Video For Search Engines?

To get your video out and about on the Internet, you'll have to follow some of the typical rules that normal content follows. The golden rule in this case: put as much content, keywords, and effort into each and every website that you can.

In our case we have less to work with, but this doesn't mean we are down and out. Add Title tags to the video, and make use of descriptions and comments as well. You'll notice that most online video sharing websites have areas where users can upload lengthy descriptions this is great for search engine crawlers! Comments also tend to add a little weight to websites, given that they are relevant and aren't spam comments.

But as most Google experts will tell you, great content isn't always the only thing you need to get ahead in rankings. To get noticed by Google you need backlinks which are simply links from other sites that point to a page on your website. Pointing these backlinks to a specific video will enable Google to both crawl and assign rank to your pages faster, and hopefully assign high rank as a result of good link building.

Final Thoughts on Video Marketing and Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is a large business on the Internet, and it's no wonder that the services of big-name SEO companies are starting to pour out into video marketing. If you can get a tight grip on the next killer viral marketing video, investing in search engine optimization methods will multiply profits from the increase in visitors. And as visitors increase, so do sales of services or products.

But as we said earlier, one of the three things needed is perseverance. Don't be surprised if you don't get ranked highly on your first attempt. If all else fails, ask for a consulting company to quote your company on an SEO job and be prepared to watch the sales come in from the next big hit in attention-grabbing marketing.

Video marketing and video search optimization service.