If you are a music lover and have not jumped on the bandwagon to download music online, you are missing out. It is simple and cost effective to download music online, regardless of your taste in music. While this is great news for music lovers, the problem is that there is an overwhelming amount of websites from where you can download music. With so many websites to choose from, it is difficult to know which website to select. Consider the following tips when picking out a website to download music so you are sure to find the best website for you and your music needs.

Free Downloads are Not Usually Best

Most people who want to download music first look for a website that offers free music downloads. Unfortunately, people who download music from free sites usually experience a number of problems, including a limited catalog of songs to choose from, terrible sound quality, slow download speeds, downloads that never fully go through, and opening up their computer for hackers, spyware, adware, malware, and virus attacks.

Most free music download websites are file-sharing websites where users open their computer up to other users to download music from. Opening up your computer to others is dangerous. When something can be downloaded, something can also be uploaded. This means, when a user taps into your computer to download one of your songs, they can also upload a number of harmful things that could crash your computer.

In addition, free music download websites are usually illegal due to copyright violations. Unless you are comfortable with the potentially dangerous situations of giving people access to tap into your computer and having illegal files stored there, free is not usually best.

Downloads vs. Streaming

There is a difference between downloading and streaming. With streaming, you simply click onto the music website and listen to music played from the website. The music is played live and you can usually select which songs you want to hear.

When you download music, you actually copy the music file from the website into your computer where you save it to your hard drive. Downloads offer you the convenience of listening to music whether or not you are connected to the music website.

Downloads can also be different from each other. Some music downloads protected by digital rights. Even after downloading, you are limited in what you can do with digital rights protected music files. You cannot usually burn these music files to a CD or transfer them to some other sort of copying device, such as a USB memory stick.

Permanent downloads, where you have full rights, allow you to burn the music onto a CD or a portable music player. This means you are not limited to listening to music straight from your computer and offers you the ability to listen to your download music anywhere.

If you plan to start a music collection or want to take your music with you, permanent downloads are the best option for you. If you just want to listen to music while working on your computer, streaming is your best bet. Many websites and radio stations even offer streaming music free.

Other things to consider when choosing a website to download music include:

Lifetime membership fees, subscription fees, or pay per download fees

Free trials and music samples

Technical support and customer service

Free software for downloading and burning

An easy to use format with clear instructions

Safety from adware, spyware, malware, hackers, and viruses