Best Sites for Free Music Downloads

Paying for your favorite tunes on services such as Spotify and Apple Music is peachy, but what about when you are looking for something gratuitous? While complimentary music might conjure up images of illegal pirating, quite a few sites offer gratuitous music legally. You tin observe some fantastic new songs, albums, or entire bands with the click of your mouse or the tap of your finger. Here are a few websites to cheque out if you lot want to jam to fresh tunes without needing to rip into your wallet.

See more than

• Apple Music vs. Spotify
• Best internet radio stations
• Best music apps
• Best music players

Below, we've rounded up some of the best sites we've constitute for downloading gratuitous music. Keep in mind that many of them are void of Billboard artists such as Taylor Swift, just if you lot look in the right spots, y'all'll discover a few hits from some big-name artists, along with scores of fresh contained artists, which should go on your ears happy and your wallet heavy.

Complimentary Music Archive

In 2009, New Jersey-based WFMU Radio embarked on a projection to brand contemporary music of all genres available to the public, and the Gratis Music Archive was built-in. Since its inception, WFMU has partnered with dozens of other curators, and the site has become a veritable treasure trove of free content.

The site combines two different approaches to posting tracks: First, it indexes complimentary music posted past all of its partner curators, and 2nd, it allows users to post their own music direct to the archives. This synthesis of sources creates a listen-extraordinary library of tracks that you could spend months browsing through, whether you choose to do then by curator or genre, or go even deeper with its newly returned search function. The site as well hosts a myriad of podcasts, and renowned radio stations such every bit Seattle's KEXP oft postal service live cuts from their studio sessions with big-name acts passing through. The boom tracks may lack some post-production, but they're too free.

(Annotation: Tribe of Noise recently acquired Free Music Archive. While the website remains operational and continues to host a total archive of everything that'due south been uploaded, the developers take disabled uploading. Previously, searching was also unavailable, just that functionality has since been restored. At that place'south no certain timeline for the return of FMA's total functionality. Be sure to follow FMA on Twitter for regular progress updates.)

Free Music Archive

SoundCloud

Non every song posted on SoundCloud is free, but that doesn't hateful there isn't a meaning selection of complementary content to choose from — both Billboard and contained artists accept been known to offer a selection of their older tracks at no accuse, though yous may take to drib them a like on Facebook or a follow on Twitter for the privilege.

Songs tin be navigated in a flurry of means, ranging from artist and genre to what's trending right now. There's too an entire section of the site dedicated to tracks released nether Creative Commons licenses that are free to download and remix, and royalty-gratis audio, which can be used for marketing purposes and in monetized material. Notation that while there's a paid element to SoundCloud, it's entirely optional and doesn't impede your ability to find free tunes.

SoundCloud

ReverbNation

Big names similar Alabama Shakes, The Civil Wars, and Imagine Dragons all got their start on ReverbNation past sharing their music for complimentary and building up their loyal fanbase. There is a mix of every genre on ReverbNation, but the site tends to lean toward more pop, alternative, and hip-hop than anything else. With a community of nearly 4 million artists, labels, and users, ReverbNation helps you sift through its immersive catalog with cool features similar the site's Discover app and a page that volition assistance you detect who is about to be the next large thing.

ReverbNation

Amazon

You're probably used to using Amazon to buy everything from the all-time headphones to dog food, so why not add together some free music to your shopping list? Believe it or not, the retailer has a massive assortment of thousands of free tunes bachelor via its digital music arm, letting yous pick through everything from obscure indie and classical music to hits past Carole King and the Foo Fighters. Checkout is quick and painless, and it works just like buying a song that costs money on Amazon, sans payment. Simply add a song to your shopping cart, cheque out, and the tunes are yours.

Amazon

DatPiff

Since the mid-aughts, the hip-hop community has get a veritable breeding ground for gratis music, much of which comes in the form of mixtapes. Some are original compilations by artists looking to cop some smooth, some characteristic rappers freestyling over popular instrumentals from their contemporaries, and some are simply dropped by artists looking to reward their loyal fans with some costless tunes — we're looking at you, Curren$y.

DatPiff is likewise the only site on this list that consistently offers complimentary music from mainstream artists — think Future and Drake — and remains the No. 1 spot for fans to download new tapes, view release schedules, and heed to fan-made compilation albums. The site fifty-fifty features a pop-out player then you can listen before yous download, likewise as a news aggregator that collects stories from sites like HipHopLately.

DatPiff

Audiomack

There's a new kid on the block that's challenging DatPiff'southward domination. Information technology's chosen Audiomack, and it's home to what's fast been branded the all-time collection of hip-hop, rap, and trap — comprising everything from smash hits from heavyweights like Kodak Blackness to viral tracks from emerging artists like NBA YoungBoy. Every bit of late, however, a lot of creators have decided to disable downloads, instead opting to use the service's streaming feature; though rest assured, there is all the same a large amount of downloadable textile, including some mixtapes from Migos, Playboi Carti, and Rich The Child.

Audiomack

Alive Music Archive

Alive Music Annal is essentially a partnership between Internet Annal and etree.org, a community dedicated to providing high-quality, lossless versions of live concerts. Yous tin can think of it every bit a bootlegger'southward paradise given the site'due south sheer abundance of concert material, much of which focuses on jam bands such every bit the Grateful Dead, The String Cheese Incident, and Sound Tribe Sector 9. Nonetheless, there are a host of other bands to choose from — The Smashing Pumpkins, Jack Johnson, Animal Collective, etc. — along with plenty of genres, from jazz to reggae, to browse.

Navigation is a bit of a task due to the overwhelming wealth of content, but there are ways to filter the results by title, publish appointment, or original creator. Once you find a particular show, yous tin often stream or download the individual tracks as a FLAC or MP3, allowing you to play the tracks in your media actor of choice. Unfortunately, the site doesn't ensure a quality performance — so we'd recommend previewing anything that sounds like it could tickle your fancy by using Live Music Annal's spider web player earlier taking the plunge and downloading information technology for local playback.

Live Music Archive

Jamendo

With hundreds of thousands of tracks from thousands of artists, Jamendo is easily i of the biggest repositories of free music on the web. You won't find all of your favorite artists hither, merely the site'due south streamlined user interface makes it bang-up for browsing and finding talented new musicians. In the by, Jamendo was mostly ane-dimensional in its discovery approach, assuasive y'all to pull upwardly tracks from private genres sorted past criteria such as release engagement. Popularity is based on user ratings, and so despite the massive number of tracks on the site, yous don't have to spend a lot of time searching before you lot notice stuff that pleases your ears. To be sure, the site's penchant for lesser-known artists and experimental tracks makes it more than suited for someone looking for something new or unique rather than specific artists.

Jamendo

NoiseTrade

NoiseTrade is one office free music site, one part promotion platform. You lot can download any individual runway or anthology an independent creative person uploads to the site if, in turn, you generously supply them with your email address and postal code. The freemium promotion platform also encourages you to spread the word most artists you like via Facebook and Twitter while giving you the pick to speedily tip the creative person a suggested $4 donation.

The site'southward user interface is also remarkably clean and simple, allowing you to effortlessly search or browse artists within a visual hub loaded with recommendations and complimentary mixtapes that cover a wide swath of genres, musicians, and forthcoming events. Furthermore, the site often boasts sectional samplers and releases from artists before they premiere elsewhere, along with corresponding links that connect you with artists' social media pages and management. Some of our favorite albums being offered last fourth dimension we checked? Wild Ones' Keep it Safe and John Prine'due south Live in Asheville '86.

NoiseTrade

Musopen

If you're a fan of classical music, finding free downloads is piece of cake — after all, well-nigh classical compositions and many performances accept long been in the public domain. Musopen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and accessibility of classical music, hosts an impressive library of compositions without any copyright restrictions. Users can scan by composer or performer, or filter results based on the time period and instrument. Whether you relish the circuitous arrangements of the Bizarre menstruation or the trigger-happy passion of the Romantics, Musopen probably has what you're looking for.

The selections are available for streaming or downloading — some even in high resolution — and the site offers a copious amount of helpful groundwork info for your perusal. If yous're curious about what a rondo is or what divers Chopin's manner, you lot can learn all that hither. Musicians may likewise be delighted to acquire that the site provides canvas music, so if you find yourself falling in love with a particular piece, you can follow along or fifty-fifty larn to play it.

Musopen

Terminal.fm

When Last.fm was initially created in 2002, it functioned equally an internet radio station in a similar style to Pandora and iHeartRadio. In 2005, however, the site adopted Audioscrobbler, a music-recommendation system that collects data from dozens of media players and music-streaming websites to craft individual user profiles that reflect their musical taste and listening habits. Terminal.fm has at present "scrobbled" info from near 100 billion plays, which total more 7 one thousand thousand years' worth of listening.

Unbeknownst to many Last.fm users, though, is the site'due south repository of free music. It's accessible via the "Gratis Music Downloads" link at the bottom of the page — or here — and offers a fairly diverse library of gratuitous music, ranging from Sufjan Stevens to The Glitch Mob. Information technology's eclectic, if limited, and free.

Concluding.fm

SoundClick

One of the sleepers of the lot, SoundClick should command your attention for its vast library of free apprentice music. It'south a lot similar SoundCloud in that it primarily offers a melting pot of tunes from the independent scene, all uploaded by the artists responsible for creating them.

SoundClick, which has been in business since 1997, has millions of tracks across over a dozen genres, including hip-hop, country, jazz, alternative, and more.

You can download many of those songs for the price of mere megabytes and a few seconds of your time, and streaming (upwardly to 160kbps, a boon for free services like these) is an choice for anything that you can't. Like others of its ilk, you'll come up across your fair share of forgettable music, but information technology's worth wading through to detect the gems.

SoundClick

Bandcamp

Popular amongst independent musicians, Bandcamp allows both artists and labels to upload content to the site and sell albums, singles, and merchandise directly to fans. However, non every artist charges for their work, making Bandcamp an excellent location to find a few new tunes for free. Founded in 2008, Bandcamp has amassed a collection of works beyond popular genres, including electronic, stone, alternative, hip-hop, punk, folk, jazz, ambient, experimental, and more than.

If you find a slice of music that you love, you can afterward contribute to the artist past purchasing other albums or memorabilia. I factor that makes Bandcamp unique is the ability to pay a minimum set price or higher amount for works; some musicians apply this system to let fans to pay what they can and choose how much they wish to back up an artist.

Bandcamp

CC Trax

Michael Archambault / Digital Trends

If you lot're a fan of electronic music, you'll want to check out CC Trax, which offers up free downloads of great dub, techno, house, downtempo, and ambience singles and albums. Music is organized by genre neatly, and you can keep an eye on your favorite musicians or labels. Much of the music featured on CC Trax has a Creative Commons license, then y'all tin can search for tracks that you can use on YouTube videos with no penalties. If you don't want to make up one's mind what to listen to next, CC Trax offers up a selection of one-click playlists sorted by genre and tempo.

This guide highlights a swell collection of sources for grabbing free tunes, but CC Trax stands out as the ultimate selection for electronic music fans. You can check the charts on the homepage to see what music is getting the virtually plays. CC Trax isn't limited to electronic music; it also has rock, modern classical, and jazz songs, but those categories aren't as robust as some of the other options on our list.

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