The best free music websites to download songs
Whether you’re a music artist looking to promote your latest album or a music fan who can’t get enough of new tunes, downloading free music from the internet is both easy and legal. In fact, there are quite a few websites out there that let you download songs completely free of charge – legally – even without paying anything at all! In this article, we’ll show you 15 of the best free music website to download music that are completely legitimate and safe to use.
1) YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular websites on earth, with 1 billion visitors per month. It’s also a treasure trove of free audio tracks, full albums and even entire concerts. Unlike other sites on our list, YouTube doesn’t allow you to search for specific tracks or artists, but there are many third-party tools that can help you do that. There’s an excellent app called Youtube Downloader that lets you save individual tracks or entire playlists from YouTube for offline listening. And another good one is SoundCloack which will automatically convert YouTube videos into MP3 files.
2) SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a site where musicians upload their tracks and music lovers listen to them. It is a free, easy-to-use website with a good selection of tracks from up-and-coming artists as well as those that are already famous. The site allows you to stream audio from your computer or from apps for mobile devices such as Android and iPhone. If you’re looking for newer artists, SoundCloud is definitely worth checking out.
3) Bandcamp
If you’re looking for legal, free mp3 downloads, Bandcamp is your best bet. Bandcamp is a website that caters to independent artists by providing them with an easy way to sell and distribute their own work. On top of providing artist-friendly features like unlimited space for uploading files and instant sharing capabilities, Bandcamp also allows artists to choose how much they want their music downloaded for. You can listen to anything on Bandcamp for free if you’re just browsing around, but if you decide you want your own copy of an album, there are two options available: name your price or $0.00.
4) Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish commercial music streaming, podcast and video service that provides digital rights management-protected content from record labels and media companies. It is available in most of Europe, most of Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Launched on 7 October 2008 by Spotify AB (publ), it was originally created by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. The company’s main headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden. The Spotify client software also features a built-in music player that allows users to listen to their favorite tracks while they work. With more than 10 million active users on Spotify as of December 2014, it is currently available in 56 countries worldwide with about 60 million monthly active users – which accounts for 83% market share – as of June 2015.
5) 8tracks
8tracks is one of my favorite websites to use for downloading free music. I’ve been using it for years, and it’s definitely one of my go-to places whenever I want some new tunes. The website is similar to Pandora in that you create a mix by combining two or more songs into a playlist, but there are thousands of mixes that have already been created for you, which makes it super easy to find new favorites. You can also download mixes if you don’t want them streaming on your device anymore.
6) Grooveshark
Grooveshark is one of my favorite websites to download music. It’s completely legal and they have a huge library of all sorts of different types of songs. Best part about it is that their site has many options for searching, downloading, sharing, etc. Very useful tool for finding just what you’re looking for in terms of specific artists or specific genres. Grooveshark also enables mobile downloads so that you can take your files on-the-go with no issues at all! All in all an excellent website with great resources! Definitely worth checking out if you want to listen to good tunes legally online!
7) Last.fm
Last.fm is one of most popular online radio stations in addition to being a resource for listening and discovering new artists. They also feature unique ways of following your favorite artists, such as by recommending similar bands based on your favorites. The site offers 10 hours worth of listening time per month completely free; if you want more than that, you can pay $3 USD per month or $30 USD per year for unlimited access. Keep in mind that only certain devices are compatible with Last.fm’s streaming service (for example, iPhones can listen but not upload tracks). If you’re looking for an easy way to discover new artists, keep tabs on your favorites and stream their latest tunes with Last.fm.
8) Tidal
Slacker Radio is a streaming radio app that lets you listen to tons of free music from a variety of artists and genres. With over 100 curated stations by genre, artist, decade or activity, it’s easy to find a station that matches your style or mood. You can also create your own stations by choosing a song or artist and Slacker will play tracks with similar melodies and beats from across its database of music. Best of all, there are no ads! Because listening should be simple and enjoyable—not interrupted by incessant commercials.
9) Slacker Radio
If you’re looking for a streaming service with a library of millions of songs, Slacker is your go-to. You can even create your own custom radio stations based on your favorite artists or tracks. The website allows you to browse by genre, mood, decade and more so that you can find just what you’re looking for. If there’s not enough new music on Slacker Radio that tickles your fancy, you can also look into their alternative subgenre channels for lesser-known bands and tracks from popular groups that don’t necessarily fit into one musical category or another.
10) Pandora
Pandora is a fantastic option for a free music-streaming service, and you can even use it with ads if you choose. The ads do get repetitive after a while, but they’re really not all that bad—in fact, most people probably won’t mind them. You can use Pandora to search for your favorite artist or song and create a station around it. This will allow you to hear similar tracks from other artists who have been popular in your area.