Music

Amazon , in addition to being the premier online bookseller, also boasts an ample selection of music for online purchase. You can browse by genre, or peruse featured discounts, promotions, and hot artists of the moment. Amazon also offers personalized recommendations, gift ideas, and free standard shipping on most orders over $25. For $79 a year, the site’s Amazon Prime service gives you free two-day shipping on almost everything you buy. Amazon also provides links to specialty stores that carry hard-to-find albums.

Barnes and Noble is another leading national book and music seller. If you don't feel like heading to the Barnes and Noble location near you, you can shop for your music at the online store. Barnes and Noble offers very similar features to Amazon, with slightly different discount plans. For example, you can become a Barnes and Noble member to get 40 percent off everything you buy, and an in-store pickup option allows you to avoid shipping costs (and get your selections a bit sooner).

MusicStack.com is your source for the music you can't find anywhere else. It's not a store itself, but an online music "portal" that will help you locate the rare CDs, used vinyls, and out-of-print music that you want. And if it's available in more than one place, MusicStack will help you compare prices.

iTunes was initially developed by Apple to be used in conjunction with the Apple iPod. If you have an iPod, you use the iTunes program to transfer songs from your computer to the iPod and create and manage your playlists. You can also purchase music from the iTunes store. The store allows you to listen to 30 seconds of a song before you purchase it, and charges $.99 per song and usually $9.99 per album. iTunes occasionally offers free downloads of selected new music.

Rhapsody is a program for downloading music for MP3 players other than iPods. (The Rhapsody site lists compatible players). If you don't have a compatible player, you can listen to 25 free songs a month, and purchase songs for $.99 that can be stored on your computer and burned onto a CD. Or for $12.99 a month you can listen to unlimited songs on your computer; $14.99 lets you listen and also store songs on your MP3 player. As a member, you can purchase songs for $.89.

eMusic also offers monthly plans for downloading music, though you can’t sample the music online first. Essentially, you sign up for a certain number of downloads. For starters, you can pay $9.99 for 30 songs a month and get a bonus 25 free songs when you sign up. If you think you'll want more songs, larger plans are available. The music you buy can be played on any digital player and burned onto CDs.

Napster is a very similar program to Rhapsody. You can choose a plan that lets you listen to unlimited songs for $9.99 a month, or a pricier plan called "Napster To Go" that allows you to play the songs on supported MP3 players and up to three computers. You can try Napster for free for seven days and when you sign up for “Napster To Go” for one year, you get a free Napster MP3 player.  

OtherMusic.com sells CDs, records, and downloads, and also has updates on current and upcoming releases and an optional free email newsletter. In addition to new CDs, you can get information about their rarities collection, which is sold via an Other Music Ebay Auction. And if you're in the area, you can stay posted on the concerts hosted at their New York City location.

Insound is one of the top online dealers of independent music . On the site you can buy CDs, vinyl records, or download whole albums in MP3 format. Insound posts short reviews of new releases, has news on top sellers, and lists of upcoming new releases. The site also makes CDs available for pre-order.

Naxos is a top classical music label and has a Web site where you can purchase CDs. Through the site, you can also sign up for Naxos Web Radio, podcasts, or become a member of the library and listen to unlimited CDs on your computer every month. You’ll also find classical music news and reviews.

Beatport is the place to buy electronica. The site rates top downloads and helps you find music by genre, chart, label, artist, mix or through a keyword search. Most tracks start at $1.49 each. Beatportal, the site’s Beta section, offers electronic music news, reviews, video interviews, an event calendar, podcasts, blogs, and special downloads.

Seeqpod asks you to enter a song or an artist, and then creates of lists of all the sites where you can stream that song for free. But you don't have to visit the site. Rather, create a playlist on Seeqpod and listen to all the music you've found uninterupted from one source.

Musicovery.com has a "matrix" on the homepage that lets you select the type of music you're interested in based on the calm/energetic and dark/positive axes. Musicovery plays a song that is connected to bubbles containing other, similar songs. Listen to each song once or only for a few seconds. If you see another bubble that interests you, click on it. If you like the song you're listening to, each bubble has a link to the iTunes and Amazon music stores.

Pandora.com is called a radio station but unlike a regular station with a DJ, your Pandora “stations” are catered specifically to your interests. You create your station based on a song or artist you like, and Pandora creates a playlist of similar music. Unlike other services, Pandora bases its picks not on genre or what other users liked but on musical characteristics. You help Pandora improve your station by clicking "I like this song" or "I don't like this song." With a free membership, you can save your radio stations, and continue hearing the type of music you like. Pandora also has links to buy the songs (and albums) that it plays.

Elbo.ws searches for blogs that have posted MP3s for your listening pleasure. On the homepage, check out what the most popular posts of the day are, read a list of recent posts, or do a search for a song that you've been dying to hear. Elbo.ws searches all listed blog entries, old and new, to find what you're looking for.

Critical Metrics is a site where music industry professionals such as artists, DJs, and members of the media recommend their favorite songs. Select a publication or critic and listen to songs it's recommended.

The Hype Machine searches music blogs to find the most blogged about songs on the Internet and then posts them on the site for you to stream. Search for your favorite artists or review the "What's Hot" list under the “Popular” link, which includes the most blogged about artists, the most popular searches from the past three days, and the most popular blogs on the Web. If you're feeling really open-minded, try out Hype Machine radio. The radio continuously streams the current most blogged about songs, so you get your dose of the zeitgeist updated every day.

iTunes , listed earlier in this guide for buying music, is also an excellent source for free podcasts and radio. You don't need to have an iPod to use the service; you only need to download the software. Choose from several free radio stations right on your iTunes screen, or visit the iTunes store to subscribe to podcasts, most of which are free.

AOL Radio has a list of 200 online radio stations you can stream for free. Browse through genres, check out the “Editor’s Station Picks,” or just scroll through all the offerings. AOL also offers a help section if you're having trouble with the program.

RollingStone.com is the Web home of America's oldest music magazine. Each month has a featured article, plus lots of smaller pieces of news, gossip and reviews. You can also read excerpts from the print magazine, the Rolling Stone blogs, and the newsletter as well as access videos and selected playlists for streaming.

SpinMagazine.com , like RollingStone.com, has most of the benefits of its print version with additional online features. Spin is a similar magazine to Rolling Stone in that it covers primarily mainstream music. While the actual content differs, the style is generally similar.

The Wire magazine reports on progressive and independent music. The online version tells you what's in the print issue but usually won't let you read the articles. However, you can get Web extras like MP3 downloads and photo galleries, as well as shorter clips of gossip and news.

Pitchfork Media is one of the most widely read online music magazines. Devoted to following the indie rock scene, Pitchfork has album reviews, special features, and short news updates. Pitchfork also has MP3s of certain bands so you can get exposed to the new music you're reading about.

Sonic Itch Music seeks to make the thrilling but occasionally overwhelming world of music available to everyone. Based in Austin, Texas, the site provides music news, videos, MP3s, reviews, and resources, as well as information about festivals all over the country, including an entire section on the famed South by South West (SXSW) festival. Sonic Itch also accepts submissions from bands.

Popmatters is an international magazine devoted to pop culture and thus an excellent site for music news and reviews. Several reviews are posted each day and archives are kept on file. The magazine also includes frequent music-related special features.

Band Weblogs is essentially a giant hub of music and band blogs collected in one place. In addition to the main blog by musician and producer Jenny May, there are band blogs, music reviews, articles, and the “Guest Music Bloggers” section, where bands can post their music in order to self-promote.

Brooklyn Vegan describes itself as “music, photos, and news from a vegan in Brooklyn,” but has been named by others as one of the top blogs in the industry. BrooklynVegan goes to a lot of shows, takes pictures, and gives the full report. Although the blog is technically based in New York, BV also reports on international news, gossip, tips, and concert dates.

Gorilla Vs. Bear is another top-ranked music blog. In addition to keeping you well informed about what’s going in the music community, GVB includes lots of pictures, scanned images, and links to MP3s that become available for streaming online.

Vibe.com is the online version of Vibe magazine, a music and urban culture magazine. The magazine's main focus is hip hop but it covers other top 40 artists. In addition to special features like up-to-date news, photos and music recommendations, the site lets you read select stories from the print magazine.

CountryWeekly.com is print magazine Country Weekly's online counterpart. Explore photo galleries, news, gossip, Web exclusives and see what's in the print magazine. You can also order a subscription.

Down Beat is one of America's oldest Jazz publications; a version of the magazine was first published in 1934. Today it's one of the top jazz magazines out there, and the online version has jazz news, reviews and artist archives. You can also see what's in the print issue and read select stories.

TicketWeb was created specifically for the Internet and was designed to help as many people effectively promote shows and sell tickets as possible. Plus, it generally has lower fees than other authorized ticket sellers. On the homepage you can do a search by artist or venue, get information about the show, and buy tickets directly off the site. If you sign up for a TicketWeb account, the site saves your credit card information so future purchases are easy, and you'll have the option of receiving e-mails about shows you might like.

Ticketmaster is a ticket vendor similar to TicketWeb, except that it is not as devoted to online service and thus is not as accessible to smaller vendors and venues. Different venues use different vendors, so if you can't find something on TicketWeb, check Ticketmaster. The music homepage lets you search for a specific show, browse by genre, or sign up for e-mail alerts.

StubHub is a ticket sales Web site sponsored by eBay that allows people to resell tickets they’ve already purchased, usually resulting in a discount for the buyer. StubHub is not an auction; sellers list at a specific price but if no one buys, sometimes the price goes down.

eBay is an auction site especially good for finding tickets to that show that sold out right away. You'll probably pay a bit over face value but if a show is really important to you, eBay is often the place to find tickets.

Craigslist is one of the largest online classified ad services, and under the “for sale” section you might find tickets to a show you've been dying to see. Craigslist doesn’t offer buyer protection, so make sure you trust your seller.

JamBase is a site specifically devoted to fostering a community for those who love and live improvisational music. JamBase provides concert dates and tour information for over 30,000 bands, as well as updates on the music community at large. JamBase is both a marketing site and a community site, filled with helpful information about finding and seeing live shows.

Guitar Center , a popular brick-and-mortar guitar vendor chain, also has an online store. You can get good deals on a wide selection of guitars, basses, drum equipment, keyboards, and amplifiers. You can also get recording, DJing, and lighting equipment as well as other accessories. Or if you like to see before you buy, scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter your zip code to find a brick-and-mortar store near you.

Musician’s Friend is similar to Guitar Center except that it's online only. It also sells orchestra and band instruments, and puts an emphasis on offering great discounts.

zZounds.com is another site akin to the two above but offers a greater selection of keyboards, and also offers a special section on making music on your computer. Although it provides most of the same product, zZounds puts a heavier emphasis on recording equipment than the other two sites.

Giardinelli is a site devoted to selling classical instruments. It specializes in woodwind and brass, but all orchestral instruments are available. Giardinelli also has product reviews and buying guides on the site.

eBay Musical Instruments is the site to visit if you’re looking for a really great deal, a unique vintage instrument, or both. eBay Musical Instruments works just like regular eBay: open an account and place bids on the stuff you want.

Craigslist is one of the largest sites out there for free classified ads. Choose your city, go to “for sale,” then click the tab for “musical instruments.”

PianoMart.com is a site that helps you buy or sell a piano; it’s a classified ad site for pianos only. Look at the homepage for featured pianos of the week and then search for a specific type, brand or price range in your area. PianoMart also offers an escrow service so you can send your money to the company, and the buyer doesn't get it until you receive your piano.

Bash the Trash is the brain-child of John Bertles, an educational consultant. He's posted instructions for making unique musical instruments out of recycled materials. Teach your kids a skill, and get rid of the trash.