Legit ways to download music

[80tapefan]

OK, most of us probably have downloaded music off places like Napster and Kazaa. I use Kazaa lite but only download and dont keep files available for upload. Lately though I guess the big industry is suceeding in shutting these places down, as music availability is quite difficult. Many mp3s on there are corrupt and have data squeels in them.
So I've noted many record companies, like Sony music are offering songs for sale online, about .99 per song. Problem is alot of them are in Windows Media format and have special codes in them to prevent copying. I doubt they'll play in Winamp. So the question is how to get these digital downloads (encripted wma's) over to mp3 format to play in Winamp. I dont like making a purchase with strings attached. I like to make copies on CDR for myself and friends and I dont think anything is wrong with that.
Once again it seems the industry doesnt want to give up any control. They just want more. I'd just like to see mp3's for sale for download with no strings attached, just like when I buy a CD. The industry has to do more to entice people away from free "illegal" downloads. Suing people aint gonna stop them. They'll have to sue half the country!
I know I'd just get rid of Kazaa lite if I could go out and buy those promo CD's for $5 and get an mp3 file I have control over for 99 cents.

[92135011]

I would use iTunes music store if I were to dl music from net.
iTunes is probably the most organised and simple to use computer jukebox these days.
Their cost is 99cents, but you can a few different formats including AAC, which sound encryption that is better than mp3 format or WMA.

[JSE]

I use iTunes and love it. I got my wife a iPod for Christmas and I have have gotten hooked on iTunes. It is extremely easy to use and every song so far has been .99 cents. You find a song or album and hit buy and it's downloaded to your library. Simple as that. You then very easily create a playlist and drag songs from you library to your playist. Once you have created a playlist, you put in a blank CD and hit burn. That's it. Very very simple. The iPod is just as easy to use by the way.

JSE

[bacchanal]

if you're in the market for legal peer to peer try Furthurnet.com (http://www.furthurnet.com/) ...it's mostly live stuff and jam bands, but it supports SHN, which is lossless compression (about half the size of a wav). The best part of course is that is is free and it's legal

[nightflier]

...music availability is quite difficult. Many mp3s on there are corrupt and have data squeels in them...

You've hit the nail on the head. The trouble with free sites is that the quality is never assured. But at $.99 a song, and then I have to burn my own CD? Not worth it, either. If you figure the artists get about half a cent per download, I'll let the labels to go extort someone else...

Now, I've noticed that most of the music people download, is stuff they already owned in some other format. Like all those old classic rock LP's that they have that are too scratched up to play anymore, or those low-quality Columbia House cassettes that are piling up in the attic. So my question is this: if one already owns the music, is it still illegal to download a 'fresh' copy for one's own use? Has this come up in court when the RIAA sued someone?

[80tapefan]

I would use iTunes music store if I were to dl music from net.
iTunes is probably the most organised and simple to use computer jukebox these days.
Their cost is 99cents, but you can a few different formats including AAC, which sound encryption that is better than mp3 format or WMA.

I prefer mp3 over other formats. And I want to know if there's a way to get the songs that I want to buy in an mp3 format that I can put into the music library I already have, use in my Winamp playlist, burn onto an mp3 CD, or on a regular CD. Special formats like AAC just turn me off as I try to keep all my song files around 5mb and the same format.
If I'm buying a song over the net I want it to be just like buying a CD in the store, I can do what I want with it.
I also love using Winamp because they have great plug-ins for cross-fading, as well as effects processing (which is great for giving dance music that club floor sound).
So the bottom line is I dont want to change the way I play my music on my PC. I just want to go somewhere, get the mp3 file I want, for a small fee without having to sort through 100s of corrupt mp3 files on Kazaa.

[80tapefan]

I use iTunes and love it. I got my wife a iPod for Christmas and I have have gotten hooked on iTunes. It is extremely easy to use and every song so far has been .99 cents. You find a song or album and hit buy and it's downloaded to your library. Simple as that. You then very easily create a playlist and drag songs from you library to your playist. Once you have created a playlist, you put in a blank CD and hit burn. That's it. Very very simple. The iPod is just as easy to use by the way.

JSE

Yeah but can I put these "iTunes" songs in with all my other mp3's. And can I play them in my Winamp playlist for the mixes I make (which go to my PC sound output and onto minidisc or cassette). And can I burn them on CD like all my other CD's recorded using Easy CD Creator? I dont want to install new programs, new software, or new folders. I just want to buy a song and be able to play it just like I would an mp3 I copied from a CD I bought.