Subscription Music Site Reviews  

Features:

• Unrestricted access to over 2.5 million music files online
• Software supplied to play and manage all your downloaded music
• Unlimited, programmable internet radio stations
• No ads or pop-ups
• Guaranteed spyware, adware and virus free
• Free MP3/music player and music management software when you sign up for the free trial
• The only service that allows you to send full length tracks and playlists to your friends - even if they're not subscribed with Yahoo!
• System Requirements: Any Windows, Mac or Linux OS
• 14-day Free Trial available - the free trial entitles you full access to the music database and you can download with no restrictions
• The protected music files are compatible with a range of MP3 players. (The unprotected MP3 files are compatible with all MP3 players, including your iPod.)
• Real Rhapsody has deals with all the major record labels, including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and more.
• US residents only!

Tip: Your best bet is to experiment with these packages before you choose which one to buy. What may be right for some, may not be right for you. They each have free trials available, so why not take full advantage of that and sign up for free with all of them! Make an informed decision before you buy and be satisfied that you subscribed to the package that's right for you.

Awards:

Cost to join:

• FREE 14-day trial
• $9.99 a month after your free 14-day trial expires (you can cancel at any time - there is no minimum joining period)
• Download unprotected MP3 versions of each song for $0.79 - you can burn these to CD, or copy them to any MP3 player.
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Pros:
	Real Rhapsody allows you to download copyrighted material legally, with all artists receiving royalties from your subscription fee.
	One of the largest databases of online music in this category
	Faster downloads than any other program reviewed on this page
	Music files are of outstanding, crystal-clear quality, having been encoded at a higher bit rate of 160Kbps.
	Streaming audio is also available, at the slightly lower bit rate of 128Kbps (WMA format)
	The best user interface of all our recommended programs, allowing you to find your favorite tracks and albums with ease.
	Excellent on-line tutorials and user manuals
	Excellent customer service
	Works on Windows, Mac and Linux
	Excellent supplied desktop music player and music management software
	All downloads guaranteed adware, spyware and virus-free: download with confidence
	Save all your downloaded tracks to your music library for easy playing later.
	Real Rhapsody are now giving away a $100 rebate with their annual subscription and a purchase of an iRiver H10 MP3 player. See the Real Rhapsody website for details.
Cons:
	Only available to US residents! The reason for this is likely to do with the licensing of the songs.

Editor's Verdict:

Our number one choice! Real Rhapsody (from the makers of the hugely popular Real Player) has a huge database of popular songs available for immediate download. The downloads are guaranteed to be safe from spyware, adware and viruses and are 100% legal so you can download with confidence. With a staggering 2.5 million songs to choose from in outstanding crystal-clear quality, it's no wonder that Real Rhapsody makes it to our No. 1 spot. The 14-day free trial gives you unrestricted access and lets you download whatever you want, and at the end of your trial period you can quit the program with no obligation whatosever.

Real Rhapsody is the fastest download site in this category (with a download bit rate of 160Kbps), and will give you better audio quality than the 128Kbps files typically delivered by other services (like Napster). Real Rhapsody has a rich directory tree, with an incredibly easy and intuitive user interface, which has one of the best search interfaces available - when you perform a search, the albums that match your search are displayed in the left-hand column (and can be ordered by name, popularity or release date) and the album tracks appear in the right hand column. The costs are also unbeatable - subscribe monthly and download unlimited tracks to copy to your compatible MP3 player for less than the cost of a single CD. You can also buy the unprotected MP3 music file format for as little as $0.79, which is among the cheapest in the industry. And with it's excellent reviews and playlist-sharing capability, it's a great way to expand your musical horizons! But why not see for yourself - follow our link below for 14 days of free music downloads and lots of free software.

Editor's Ratings:

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Average User Review:

Features:

• Over 1.5 million songs online
• Enjoy 50+ commercial interactive, free radio stations
• Share music with other Napster members
• View other Napster members' playlists and discover new music
• Fill and refill any compatible MP3 player with songs without paying per album or per song (you must maintain your subscription for this - available on Napster To Go membership only)
• Download music from over 50 years of Billboard Charts
• System Requirements: PC only, Windows XP/2000, Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher, Windows Media Player 7.1 or higher (Note: for Napster To Go, you need Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 or higher)
• Napster has deals with all the major record labels, including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and more.
• Available to US, Canadian and UK residents only!

Tip: Your best bet is to experiment with these packages before you choose which one to buy. What may be right for some, may not be right for you. They each have free trials available, so why not take full advantage of that and sign up for free with all of them! Make an informed decision before you buy and be satisfied that you subscribed to the package that's right for you.

Cost to join:

• FREE 7-day Trial, then choose from 2 levels of membership: Napster To Go, or Napster...
• Napster membership:$9.95 per month (entitles you to play on demand over 1 million songs, - on your PC only - you must maintain your subscription to listen to them)
• Napster To Go membership: $14.95 per month (entitles you to play on demand over 1 million songs and add them to a compatible MP3 player - again, you must maintain your subscription to listen to them)
• Napster Lite: No membership - browse 30 sec clips of songs and buy for $0.99 per song or $6.99 for an entire album.
• With both Napster and Napster To Go, you can buy songs to keep forever for $0.80 per song
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Pros:
	Napster allows you to download copyrighted material legally, with all artists receiving royalties from your subscription fee.
	Preprogrammed playlists specifically tailored for your device
	Napster's music files are of outstanding crystal-clear quality
	An endless number of music files can be queued up for automatic download (though the Napster interface will only actually download 2 at any one time).
	Napster has completely interactive radio stations that can be saved as playlists
	Excellent customer service
	All downloads are adware, spyware and virus-free - download with confidence
Cons:
	Graphically intense user interface that some people may find confusing.
	Occasionally has difficulty recognizing when a compatible MP3 player is connected.

Editor's Verdict:

The site that started the music on-line revolution is back! Napster started out as a free, P2P file-sharing community offering free downloads, but then it was forced to shut-down. Now Napster is back, with legally-available, subscription-based music downloads. The user interface is polished and intuitive and is one of the most impressive interfaces of our recommended sites. When your compatible MP3 is connected, you can see its icon in the bottom right of the Napster user interface screen - to copy songs to your MP3 player you simply drag and drop them onto the icon - it's that easy! Download as much as you want and play it on your PC or a compatible MP3 player as long as you're still subscribed. Napster's tracks are encoded at 128Kbits/sec, so you can load about 83 hours' worth of music onto a 5GB player any one time.

Napster lets you listen to all the songs you like from all the major record labels as well as some Indy labels - then you can simply buy the ones you like. The content is vast and the site is easy to use. If you listen to a lot of different music then this service will practically pay for itself! Members can choose from over 50 commercial-free radio stations, create custom playlists to share with friends. Members can also enjoy Napster on your home stereo. It's Fast, Safe and Legal. Sign up for your 7-day free trial by following our links below...

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Yahoo! Music Unlimited
(US Residents Only)

Features:

• Over 1 million songs online
• Log in with your Yahoo! account details
• 7-day FREE TRIAL available
• Share full songs using Yahoo! Messenger (supplied)
• Over 100 commercial, customizable free radio stations
• Manage your music: import CDs, create playlists, etc.
• Buy downloads to burn to CDs and transfer to your device
• Access your saved subscription music from multiple PCs, including playlists
• Publish and share your playlists; search and browse other people's playlists too
• Create a digital music network at home

Tip: Your best bet is to experiment with these packages before you choose which one to buy. What may be right for some, may not be right for you. They each have free trials available, so why not take full advantage of that and sign up for free with all of them! Make an informed decision before you buy and be satisfied that you subscribed to the package that's right for you.

Cost to join:

• FREE 7-day trial, then choose from 2 membership plans: Yahoo! Music Unlimited (YMU), or YMU To Go, with monthly or annual billing options. YMU entitles you to download and play over 1 million protected songs on your PC only. YMU To Go also lets you copy them to a compatible MP3/digital music player.
• YMU: $6.99 per month
• YMU: $59.88 per year (works out at $4.99 monthly)
• YMU To Go: $11.99 per month
• YMU To Go: $119.88 per year (works out at $9.99 per month)
• With either plan you can download unprotected versions of each song for $0.79 - you can burn these to CD, rip them to MP3 and play them on any MP3 player.
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Pros:
	The site allows you to download copyrighted material legally, with all artists receiving royalties from your subscription fee.
	The cheapest to join of all the subscription-based sites reviewed here. This is probably because this service is new - expect the price to go up in the coming months!
	MP3's are of outstanding crystal-clear quality
	Smooth, intuitive user interface, allowing you to find your favorite tracks and albums with ease
	Excellent on-line tutorials and user manuals
	Excellent customer service
	Integrated Gracenote Music ID that automatically fills in ID3 info for untagged music
	Excellent supplied desktop MP3 player and music management software
	All downloads are adware, spyware and virus-free - download with confidence
	You can access the entire music library of any Yahoo Buddy who also subscribes
Cons:
	Only available to US residents! !
	Editorial content, such as album reviews, etc, needs beefing up.
	Interface is a bit bland and has a few minor limitations

Editor's Verdict:

Like most of the subscription services offered here, Yahoo! Music Unlimited lets you listen to any one of it's million plus songs, as long as your subscription is paid up. The protected audio files are downloaded to your PC for quick and easy listening - but they must be bought separately (for a fee per song or per album) for you to have the unprotected version that you can keep and play forever.

The user interface for Yahoo! Music Unlimited is very much like the one for Apple's iTunes. You can burn songs to CD easily using the supplied software. You can create your own music collection and an icon next to your song will tell you if it's available to be burnt to CD (if it's protected then it's not; if you paid for it individually then it's unprotected and it is). You can easily create your own CD list and then burn all your files to CD. We liked this software because we like the iTunes user interface. Yahoo! Music Unlimited has just about everything you'd want from a music download service, including an integrated music player, CD burning capabilities, multiple language download, and more. From as little as $5 per month, the cost of membership to Yahoo! Music Unlimited is truly excellent value for money compared to many other subscription sites, but bear in mind that this site is very new and so it does have a few bugs in it that still need ironing out. Also, there are relatively few editorial reviews at present. However, you can expect these problems to be addressed quickly by Yahoo! Check out Yahoo! Music Unlimited for yourself and claim your free 7-day trial by following our link below.

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Overall:

4

Features:

• Over 2 million songs from over 3,800 record labels
• Over 100,000 albums
• All songs available on unprotected MP3 format for you to keep forever (fully compatible with your iPod or any MP3 player)
• Download entire albums
• Excellent reviews of top-selling albums, artists and tracks
• The Free Trial offer gives you full access to the site and 25 free downloads for you to keep forever
• Software supplied to play and manage all your downloaded MP3's
• No ads or pop-ups
• Guaranteed spyware, adware and virus free
• Available in all countries
• Compatible with ALL MP3 players, including your iPod

Tip: Your best bet is to experiment with these packages before you choose which one to buy. What may be right for some, may not be right for you. They each have free trials available, so why not take full advantage of that and sign up for free with all of them! Make an informed decision before you buy and be satisfied that you subscribed to the package that's right for you.

Cost to join:

• FREE TRIAL gives you 25 free MP3s to keep forever, then you can cancel free of charge or choose from 3 great packages...
• eMusic Basic: $9.99 per month (for 30 downloads). Equivalent to less than 33c per download
• eMusic Plus: $14.99 per month/50 downloads - that's $.30 a song
• eMusic Premium: $19.99 per month/75 downloads - that's $.27 a song (best value!)
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Pros:
	The site allows you to download copyrighted material legally, with all artists receiving royalties from your subscription fee.
	A huge database of online music
	MP3's are of outstanding crystal-clear quality
	Industry-leading columnists guide you through the site with reviews and recommendations on tracks and albums
	Smooth, intuitive user interface, allowing you to find your favorite tracks and albums with ease
	Excellent on-line tutorials and user manuals
	Excellent customer service
	All downloads are adware, spyware and virus-free - download with confidence
	eMusic is available in all countries
	The cost per MP3 is the cheapest we could find
	All downloaded files are unprotected MP3's and so are compatible with your iPod or any other MP3 player or digital music player.
Cons:
	You're limited in the number of downloads you can make each month, no matter which package you join
	The Free trial requires that you hand over your credit card details and select a plan before you join. But don't worry - you won't be billed until your trial period (of 25 free downloads) ends and you are prompted to join.

Editor's Verdict:

eMusic has a huge array of songs from well-known established bands as well as from emerging artists, and the on-line album and single reviews are an excellent way to guide you through the myriad of music on offer from this site. The site is one of the few major music subscriptions sites to offer you all its music in the unprotected MP3 format, so you can keep all the tracks you download forever and play them on all your digital music players - from your iPod to your PC. Alternatively, burn all your downloaded tracks to CD and take them with you. However, you're limited in the number of downloads you can make to 30, 50 or 75 mp3's a month, depending on the package you buy - see the "Cost to join" section opposite for a complete cost breakdown. This works out as $0.27 to $0.33 per MP3, which is great value for money and much cheaper than the competition, so why is eMusic in 4th place in our list? Well, we found some holes in the catalog listings for eMusic, meaning that we sometimes couldn't find the songs we were looking for. This is partly because eMusic has just around 2 million songs online (compare that to the 2.5 million offered by Real Rhapsody and Napster!)

If you're at all undecided about emusic then sign up for the free trial offer with no obligation whatsoever, check out the site and download your favorite 25 songs for free to keep forever. This is one of the simplest sites to use and download from with no small print and no hidden restrictions on your listening pleasure!

Editor's Ratings:

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Features:

• Over 1.5 million songs to choose from
• Stream songs directly from the internet, or download them to your PC for you to keep forever
• Access this web-based service from any PC - listen to music at home and at work
• Access to thousands of radio stations based on your favorite artists and music genres
• Personalize your home page
• Share playlists and personalized home pages with friends
• Download entire albums or individual tracks
• Advanced search capabilities allow you to search by my music category or search for a particular song, album or artist
• Look at what other users who like the music you like are listening to
• The system "learns" what type of music you like over time and suggests new bands and songs for you to try
• Biographies on all your favorite artists
• Stream to a Windows Media Connected device with your AOL MusicNow Subscription
• MusicNow carries a complete digital music collection from the four "major labels": Sony/BMG, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, and is building a never-ending list of independent labels including V2, Rounder, Epitaph, Tommy Boy, Roadrunner, Blue Note, The Orchard, and Astralwerks.
• System Requirements: Windows XP or 2000, Internet Explorer 6.0, Windows Media Player 9 or 10 (this is available free - see info on the AOL site on how to obtain it)
• See a list of compatible MP3 players here

Cost to join:

• FREE 30-day Trial
• Standard membership: $9.95 per month (entitles you to play on demand over 1 million songs)
• Additionally you can download songs to keep forever at $0.99 per song or $9.99 for an entire album
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Pros:
	The site allows you to stream and download copyrighted material legally, with all artists receiving royalties from your subscription fee.
	The music files are of outstanding quality - encoded at 128kb/sec (CD-quality)
	Extremely fast download speeds
	A very easy user interface makes navigating the site and finding your files easy
	Excellent customer support who were quick to respond to our query
	Song downloads purchased from MusicNow are compatible with all portable music devices certified by Microsoft's Plays for Sure program
	It has the longest lasting free trial period of all our recommended sites, so you can really get a feel for the site before you join.
Cons:
	Only works with Internet Explorer 6.0 or above - sorry Firefox fans!
	Only works on Windows XP or 2000 - sorry Mac/Linux users!
	Music files are available in .wma (Windows Media Audio) format, not MP3. As such, they cannot be transferred directly to your iPod or other Mp3 player - at least not without some jiggery pokery! If you have iTunes for Windows, you can synchronize your iPod and iTunes music listening with your MusicNow service.

Editor's Verdict:

Sign into AOL's Music Now service with you AOL screen name for an instant free 30-day trial with no obligation to buy. With 1.5 million songs online, why doesn't AOL rank higher up our list than 5th place? The answer is that there are just too many restrictions - mainly the fact that you can't use Mozilla Firefox with it and the fact that it's not available on Mac or Linux. Having said that, this is a great site if you meet all the requirements - you have Windows XP or 2000 and you don't mind using Internet Explorer 6.0 (which you're probably using to read this right now!) We liked the user interface of AOL Music Now - it's clean and not too busy, and it's laid out in an intuitive manner: for instance, the navigation tabs, accessible from any page on the site, let you easily switch between Music Now's catalog (Get Music) and your personal, Web-based library of songs, albums, artists, and playlists (My Music). AOL Music Now features custom playlists and community features such as viewing and sharing music profiles with other visitors, allowing you to interact with other users who have the same musical tastes that you do. Viewing the playlists of other users with similar musical tastes is a great way to expand your musical horizons!

But try before you buy - follow our link below and sign up for a free 30-day trial. If you're already an AOL user, then the sign-up process is a breeze and will take you about one minute!

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