With streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, accessing your favorite albums and songs is affordable and easy. But there are a few drawbacks: rights holders can remove your favorite tracks at any time, and it doesn’t help to support anyone except really big labels and artists. However, there are many ways to support your favorite bands, and one of them is to invest in physical media such as vinyl or CDs, or you can go completely digital but still want permanent ownership. It’s also better for the environment, perhaps. Here are the best ways to buy digital music and keep it forever.
Average cost per album: $10
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Benefits
- One of the largest music catalogs of any service
- AAC files can be read by most music players and phones
Evil
- There are no options to lose
- Switching from iTunes to Apple Music wasn’t easy
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Average cost per album: $10
Jump to the details
Benefits
- One of the best ways to support your favorite artists and labels
- It sells physical albums that often come with a digital version thrown in
Evil
- It’s not the best of pop music
Expand Good and Evil
Average cost per album: $10
Jump to the details
Benefits
- Almost any music sold on Amazon is also available as an MP3
- MP3 has the best format support
Evil
- The site has a poor interface that makes browsing difficult
- Amazon really wants you to subscribe to its streaming service instead
- Some MP3 albums cost the same as a CD, which usually comes with the MP3
Expand Good and Evil
Average cost per album: $10 (CD quality), $15 (24-bit)
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Benefits
- Qobuz’s combination of streaming and storefront is very compelling
- Perfect for classical music fans
Evil
- The catalog is not as extensive as its competitors, especially indie
Expand Good and Evil
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Why should I buy digital music?
Buying digital music, such as MP3 or FLAC files, has more advantages than you realize. Once you’ve purchased music, it can be stored on any device, meaning it’s yours to keep forever. Digital music stores also offer instant downloads after your purchase, and often choose between different formats, such as MP3 or AAC to save space and money or lossless versions of FLAC, ALAC or WAV to increase visual quality. (They usually cost about the same as MP3s.) If you prefer physical media and don’t worry too much about storage, you can buy CDs and rip music the old-fashioned way.
Whether you want to buy a single song or an entire album, we’ve rounded up the best digital music stores out there. From iTunes and Amazon to Bandcamp and Qobuz, many of these stores offer apps for both Android and iOS, allowing you to easily listen to the music you buy. Or download them to your phone, computer or even Walkman.
Read more: The best MP3 players of 2025
Benefits
-
One of the largest music catalogs of any service
-
AAC files can be read by most music players and phones
Evil
-
There are no options to lose
-
Switching from iTunes to Apple Music wasn’t easy
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 256Kbps (AAC)
iTunes may no longer be the star of the company’s lineup, as Apple Music is the current focus, but it’s still one of the biggest digital markets. iTunes still sets the standard for lost music downloads, and its catalog should cover all but your most obscure needs. iTunes doesn’t sell MP3s, it sells songs in their AAC format, but they can be read by almost all modern players.
If you are using macOS Catalina or higher you can access the marketplace from Music > iTunes Store. If you don’t have an Apple Music membership you can still listen to your iTunes purchases in the Music app, but if you want to download lossless files remember you’ll need to register.
Benefits
-
One of the best ways to support your favorite artists and labels
-
It sells physical albums that often come with a digital version thrown in
Evil
-
It’s not the best of pop music
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 320Kbps, Lossless (up to 24-bit)
With the support of many indie music labels, Bandcamp (now part of Songtradr) is perhaps the best alternative to iTunes or Amazon, especially if your tastes reach more esoteric. The site allows you to download in any format you like (MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless) and look as many times as you like, without paying extra. The company now also labels 24 high-quality downloads making the site attractive to audiophiles. In addition, the site runs regular Bandcamp Friday events, which give 100% of the proceeds to the artist.
Benefits
-
Almost any music sold on Amazon is also available as an MP3
-
MP3 has the best format support
Evil
-
The site has a poor interface that makes browsing difficult
-
Amazon really wants you to subscribe to its streaming service instead
-
Some MP3 albums cost the same as a CD, which usually comes with the MP3
Average cost per album: $10
Maximum bit rate: 256Kbps
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, the Amazon Music streaming service makes a lot of sense. However, you don’t need to be a Prime Member to buy MP3s, or to automatically download the CDs you buy. The downside is that the digital music homepage is bare — a bunch of blocky buttons instead of cover art — and includes prominent links to Amazon Music Unlimited streaming.
Note that even though Amazon has discontinued its “digital locker” service that stores your MP3s, the MP3s you buy from Amazon will still be available for streaming and download.
Benefits
-
Qobuz’s combination of streaming and storefront is very compelling
-
Perfect for classical music fans
Evil
-
The catalog is not as extensive as its competitors, especially indie
Average cost per album: $10 (CD quality), $15 (24-bit)
Maximum bit rate: Loss (up to 24/192)
If you’re only interested in high-quality downloads – and by this I mean 24-bit hi-res – the Qobuz download store is one of the cheapest. Like Qobuz’s music streaming service, it offers a wide variety of music genres, from pop to jazz to death metal to anything you can imagine. The site also offers sales of new releases including Metallica’s latest promotions. If you’re a serious audiophile you can sign up for Sublime’s $180-a-year streaming package, which also offers up to 60% discounts on Hi-Res downloads.
7Digital: This site has a wide selection of MP3s (and FLAC files), but its front page hasn’t been updated in years. However, the site is full of new releases and offers competitive prices.
Bleep: If your tastes run into dance music with a sprinkle of indie, you’ll find a lot to like on this site.
Juno Downloads: This UK-based competitor to Bleep should also look for obscure EDM and indie titles, although its catalog is generally more expensive.
HD Tracks: Audiophile-oriented site with CD-quality and hi-res downloads, and although its prices are generally higher than its competitors, the store offers regular sales.
Where can I buy music instead of Google Play?
Which is better, MP3 or FLAC?
