Music downloading has never been more popular today. Almost everyone you see on the streets have their music players filled with great songs, which they can listen to throughout the day. And while most of these downloads are recently released singles or albums, it is not a guarantee that these titles are on top of the music download charts. So how do they list the top 10 music download?

MP3s, WMAs, and other music format can be downloaded from different online sources. So even if the song is so popular with downloaders, it is not necessarily an online chart-topper. How is it so? It's because the official top 10 music download list is compiled by record companies and their affiliate online distributors. In short, only legal download counts—downloads through file-sharing and independent music sites are not included. The good thing about this trend is that more often that not, the official top 10 music download runs parallel to online music downloads in general. This means that one will see the same sets of songs for both official and unofficial online charts—with only a slight difference in the song placing.

But experts believe that topping the online charts would not exactly turn to record sales. Let's face it, listeners have discriminating tastes for their music. And in a music album composed of more than 10 singles, it's just not that practical. After all, they will only have three or four favorite songs in there. This is the reason why music download is at the forefront of the music industry because more and more people are choosing to legally download singles rather than buy the whole album. Yes, there are still a number of people—especially diehard fans—who would go to record bars and buy the complete album. But there is a big turnaround between downloaders and record owners. And to think that those who would buy music CDs will convert the songs into music player readable format anyway. In most cases music moguls release a single on the net prior to the album's official release. This was what happened with Coldplay's “Viva La Vida”, where a lot of users downloaded it weeks before the band's album was released. Music downloads is also a good form of marketing. It has been the playing ground for new artists—their songs have been popular among listeners even before they get to know the artist who sang them.

As said earlier, most of these downloads are recent releases and download charts vary every week. In recent weeks, Katy Perry's “I Kissed a Girl” leads all music downloads. This is followed by singles of Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. These two artists are successful both in music downloads and record sales—not to mention sold out concerts. New Artist The Ting Tings entered the music-downloading scene with their eponymous single, “That's Not My Name”. The songs from these artists are all part of the top 10 music download.