So you finally got a broadband Internet connection for your home.  Now what do you do with it other than email and browse web pages faster?  How about putting on some music?  Don’t be discouraged by the debate over illegal downloading and file-sharing, there are plenty of legal and high quality sources to listen to digital music online.  From downloading individual songs to listening to online radio stations, the Internet has it all.

Start with looking up the website for a band you like, or by visiting www.ChiliTech.FM. Many bands and artists will have free downloads of their music available on their websites.  If they don’t have downloads available, they usually have songs and videos that you can listen to and watch right on the site.  Also look for music related websites such as Rolling Stone magazine, www.rollingstone.com, or www.winamp.com.  Websites such as these always have some music available.

By now everyone had heard of iPods, the small portable music player, and its online music store iTunes.  Even if you don’t have the money to buy your own iPod, you can still take advantage of the iTunes music store.  If you don’t have an iPod to put your songs on, you can burn your own CDs with the iTunes software and listen to them in your car or home stereo.  Songs are only 99 cents each and whole albums are usually only about $10 each.  You can even import your own CD collection into the iTunes software to turn your PC into a digital jukebox and make your own mix CDs.  There is a vast selection of music on iTunes and you can preview samples of songs to help you decide if you want to purchase or not. 

Another source of digital music on the web is Napster.  You can buy songs to burn onto CDs or to put onto your portable music player for 88 cents each, or you can pay $9.95 per month for an unlimited listening subscription.  The monthly subscription allows you to listen to songs and whole albums as well as radio, but you do not own the songs.  If you cancel your subscription, you no longer have access to the songs you downloaded.   What I most enjoyed about Napsters monthly service is the ability to create your own radio stations on the fly.  Just select three or more songs, right-click the songs and select ‘Build Radio Station’.  This will create a big list of songs that are similar in style to the songs you selected.  It saves time spent choosing each individual song and is a good way to discover artists that you may not have listened to before. 

Don’t feel like paying for your online music or you just like the feel of listening to the radio?  Then you’re in luck with Internet radio stations!  All you need is media playing software such as Windows Media Player or Winamp, a quick search for a station, and you’re on your way to happy listening.  Anyone with Windows on their PC should have Media Player.  To get the popular Winamp, go to www.winamp.com.  Do a Google search for ‘Internet radio’ to find some good websites that offer free radio over your broadband Internet connection.  Websites such as www.sky.fm, www.di.fm, and www.live365.com all have good quality and selection.  Also, you can use Yahoo’s Launch, music.yahoo.com, for both radio and music videos.  Nullsoft, the makers of Winamp, have Shoutcast at www.shoutcast.com that also has plenty of variety in music.

You can even find talented radio personalities in the Internet talk radio community.  The Ryan Wallace Show is very entertaining, www.ryanwallaceshow.com, as well as the many opinionated people that can be found at www.rantradio.com.  Also not to be overlooked are the Podcasts that you can find on iTunes.  Podcasts are downloadable radio show segments to listen to with iTunes and there are many different categories to listen to.  Be warned though, the Internet being what it is, some online radio stations and Podcasts have explicit lyrics and content so be aware.  Don’t be discouraged though; there are hundreds if not thousands of choices available, online radio and digital music has something for everybody and will cater to any musical preference.

Author:  Jason Feigles