Where to buy lossless mp3s

Not many untrained listeners can reliably distinguish a kbps MP3 file from an original CD. Nonetheless, there is a growing demand for "lossless" files that don't sacrifice any of the musical information in the source material. There are several lossless audio formats, and they should all sound identical. This doesn't mean FLAC is popular. It appeals mainly to the minority of the population who consider themselves audiophiles, but it's not supported by Apple's iTunes store or the iPod players that dominate the mass market.

Amazon could probably push FLAC into the mainstream, but since it has failed to support FLAC, the main sources of legal downloads are ofen quite specialised. They include smaller music stores and record labels, bands selling their own music, and audiophile sources such as Linn Records.

However, there is a demand for new music that will never appear on CD, and for recordings that offer better sound quality than CDs which sounded great in the s, but are far from perfect.

If you can find legitimate FLAC versions of these albums, they are unlikely to be cheaper than the CDs, especially if you buy in sales or on eBay. HDtracks only works with American internet addresses, but I'm told you can use a proxy and pay by PayPal. Rhino requires a credit or debit card issued by a US bank with a US billing address. Qobuz is French. We often recommend media and products we like. If you buy anything through links on our site, we may earn a commission. The vast majority of people these days listen to music via streaming services, and most of them are happy with it.

That said, there are still some people who prefer to own their digital music collection instead of effectively renting it. While some of these listeners use lossy formats like MP3, others prefer lossless or hi-res formats.

Related: Ways to improve your music listening experience. As you might expect from the name, HDtracks focuses on high-resolution audio. If you know the name Qobuz, you probably know it as a streaming service. Note that although Amazon scuttled its "digital locker" service that stores your personal MP3s, the MP3s you buy from Amazon will still be available for streaming and download. With regular free albums, decent pricing and a tie-in with Google's Chromecast, the Google Play Music store offers a lot for your money.

Now with the support of many indie music labels, Bandcamp is perhaps the best alternative to iTunes or Amazon, particularly if your tastes run to the more esoteric. If you're looking for a wide selection of MP3s and also FLAC files 7Digital is available in a number of countries and has decent pricing and regular sales offers. If your tastes run to dance music with a sprinkling of indie, then you'll find a lot to love about Bleep.

The site also has a good selection of bit and bit FLAC that aren't subject to the price hikes of some competitive vendors. Bandcamp's main competition in the indie space, CD Baby offers musicians and music fans a place where they can buy and sell their music. Not as browse-friendly as Bandcamp due to the lack of label involvement and "name" bands , but it's a boon to truly independent artists. Murfie is a virtual music store that stores, sells and rips second-hand CDs, in addition to some new discs.

As the last bastion before outright piracy, Murfie is a good way to find music that's unavailable elsewhere.