Non-Streaming Music Services (I want my own music)

[Guerrero]

I would much prefer to have my own copies of my music, rather than streaming it. I'm not an audiophile, but I would like high-quality MP3's, i.e. 320 kbps. I have pretty eclectic music tastes, so I'll need a pretty wide catalog. Also, I may (or may not) have "acquired" a bunch of music over the years, and would like to go legit (hypothetically). I have no desire to be in the Apple ecosphere (Apple and I just don't get along), so iMusic/iTunes/whatever they call it is out. I'm probably looking at buying individual songs rather than whole albums. I did give Amazon a look, but their MP3's seem to be capped at 256 kbps.

What are my options?

Secondary question: I have CD's I want to rip/re-rip. Does the ripping software matter?

[Sig_Fiend]

There are a number of platforms that allow you to buy music digitally.

• Bandcamp
• Beatport
• HDtracks
• Qobuz
• 7digital
• NativeDSD

I've mainly used Bandcamp and Beatport and always been happy with both. To some degree, the type of music you're interested in might determine the platform. For example, it's far easier to find platforms selling electronic music than it might be to find classic music from big artists.

If it was me, I'd try to go for files in the FLAC format for more of a lossless and higher quality sound. Those files are pretty widely supported by lots of players these days. In my experience, FLAC files tend to be ~5-10x the size of a typical MP3. For example, a 5 minute track in MP3 might be ~3-5MB whereas in FLAC it might be closer to ~25-50MB, depending on bit rate. To give you an idea, in that example I used, I was referencing some FLAC files I had for several 5-5:30 minute songs at bit rates of 640kbps (25.4MB) and 1523kbps (55.7MB). Those are substantially higher bit rates than typical MP3's which might be closer to ~96-320kbps on average. With a good set of headphones, particularly if you have an amp, the quality difference becomes very apparent.

[fly out]

There might be lots of opinions on this. Here's my take:

The same issue affects both of your questions. MP3 can sound very good. The process of creating an MP3 file loses information in making the file sizes smaller (lossy compression) and it uses software to decide how to do that. There are big differences in the quality of the encoders that manage the compression. 320 is the highest bitrate for MP3, but not all 320 sounds the same. 320 can sound very good; it can sound crappy, even from the same source material. Depends on the encoder. (Good 256 can sound better than bad 320.)

I've read that some of apple's encoders are very old and even worse than the doggy MP3 encoders, but I don't swim in the apple pool, either.

Personally, I still buy physical media, and I rip a fair amount of it for convenience and as a backup. I use the Exact Audio Copy program and I rip to the FLAC format, which is compressed, but doesn't lose any of the information (lossless, instead of lossy). A properly-ripped FLAC file should be able to be turned back into something that is identical to the original source.

A CD rip to FLAC often ends up at about 300-400MB in size, so maybe half the size of the original, but probably still twice the size, maybe more, of a good MP3.

If I was going to spend any time ripping, I'd rip to FLAC, but if I wasn't going to rip to FLAC, I'd at least pay close attention to my MP3 encoder.

For jazz and classical, prestomusic offers a wide selection and 320 downloads for sale. They also sell physical media, and I place an order a few to several times a year. Even though it's international, it's always fast and reliable.

[rawkguitarist]

I can’t say I don’t use Apple… it’s just what I’ve used for years and years. But I do download some music from Bandcamp.

But just giving a shout for those of us that prefer downloaded music. It’s probably the digital equivalent to cassette tapes. But I don’t like to search for music and have to make play lists of all my favorite albums that are already on my phone.

NOW… here is the bill shit with Apple/iTunes. I recently got a new iPhone 15 and ended up accidentally syncing it to my ITunes library. That meant the ONLY music left was what I bought through Apple. Thank God I still had my old phone and was able to reset the new one and pipe all my music over again. It’s roughly $3000 of music going back easily 30 years.

I had no idea my iTunes library turned proprietary on me. Yes… I made a backup.

[bofe954]

I'm a dinosaur. I burn CD's on to my computer and then play them on my samsung phone with an app called Pulsar. I generally buy old shit anyway so the CD's are typically pretty cheap. I also had a bunch from when I was more into music in the 90's. I just bought Tom Petty Full Moon Fever for $6 on amazon. I'm eyeing up Pink Floyd Animals. I like the ability to play stuff without any kind of connection, and I always seem to like B side type stuff anyway. I did like the ability kind of "build your own greatest hits" with itunes, but I feel like you miss a lot of good music that way, too.

[GyroF-16]

I can’t say I don’t use Apple… it’s just what I’ve used for years and years. But I do download some music from Bandcamp.

But just giving a shout for those of us that prefer downloaded music. It’s probably the digital equivalent to cassette tapes. But I don’t like to search for music and have to make play lists of all my favorite albums that are already on my phone.

NOW… here is the bill shit with Apple/iTunes. I recently got a new iPhone 15 and ended up accidentally syncing it to my ITunes library. That meant the ONLY music left was what I bought through Apple. Thank God I still had my old phone and was able to reset the new one and pipe all my music over again. It’s roughly $3000 of music going back easily 30 years.

I had no idea my iTunes library turned proprietary on me. Yes… I made a backup.

Tell me more about how you kept access to all your own music…
The vast majority of my music is MP3 files ripped from CDs, and managed/accessed with iTunes.
I’m also moving to an iPhone 15 in a few weeks from an iPhone XR I’ve had for about 5 years. It’s never been a problem in the past just doing a backup of the old phone on iTunes and a restore on the new phone.
What do I need to do differently this time?

[rawkguitarist]

Tell me more about how you kept access to all your own music…
The vast majority of my music is MP3 files ripped from CDs, and managed/accessed with iTunes.
I’m also moving to an iPhone 15 in a few weeks from an iPhone XR I’ve had for about 5 years. It’s never been a problem in the past just doing a backup of the old phone on iTunes and a restore on the new phone.
What do I need to do differently this time?

Man… the only way I’ve kept it is on my phones without syncing. I haven’t synced in at least 2 phones. The way iTunes syncs now, it doesn’t seem to work. So I have only backed my phone up. I still have to figure out how to get to the library from there. Yeah, 50% of my music is from CD’s years and years ago. And they are probably warped in piles in my attic.

Sorry I can be more help. I’m not an expert by ANY means, so I’m sure there’s some way to do it. Just not in my brain.

[Chance]

Pulled up a few places that sell FLAC audio, and they're not cheap. Basically $16 for an album that's been around for 30 years.

It might be worth the time to setup an MP3 vs FLAC test on whatever you're actually listening through to see if you can tell a difference. Playing audio through my home theater system, I can definitely tell a difference in quality - through ear buds or car speakers, it doesn't seem to matter much.

[JohnO]

I'm done paying! I've had the same music on LP, Cassette tape & CD. Last thing I'm going to do it purchase it again on a different format. I'm out.