Allofmp3 R.I.P. - Where do you download mp3s now?

I've been keeping my eye on this site for a while now. Unlike mp3sparks (set up by the owners of allofmp3), this one has remained constantly accessible and available for fast downloading. MP3Panda has the feel and setup of allofmp3, with album downloads at only $0.50, or $0.05 per track if you're only after specific songs! Tracks are downloaded at one bitrate, and the sound quality is A1. There are 200,000 albums available from 40,000 artists, including a lot of more obscure, older stuff as well as all the current releases.

It accepts all major credit cards, and I have had no problems crediting my account with a visa credit card.

The minimum account payment at MP3Panda is $20 (you pay in advance and debit your account by downloading). If you want to pay more there are additional bonus credits available (eg pay $50 and get an additional $10 credit free, or pay $100 and get $25!). My advice with any download site is not to credit your account too highly unless you plan to use it quickly - however there is enough selection on this site to spend $100 easily.

The site is updated almost daily with new releases, and you can subscribe to have email notifications of newly available music.

This is the best pay-per-download site out there so far............

Click here to access the worthy successor to allofmp3.

This site is slick. It has a massive selection of music (127,000 albums and counting), and adds approximately 50 per day. Songs can be downloaded individually, or as complete albums. The cost per track is 15 cents:- albums are charged at number of tracks x 15c, then a 20% discount is applied. This works out at around $1.50 per album.

Soundike has a massive, varied music selection, and many albums are available at bitrates up to 320kBps. Albums cn be downloaded as a zip file complete with artwork, which means downloads are really quick.

All major credit cards are accepted, and bonus credits are given for credits above $30 ($30 credit = $10 bonus, up to $50 credit = $35 bonus!)

The site is a good complement to MP3Panda, as some music available on one site may not be available on the other (especially if you're looking for older or more obscure mp3s).

Click here to access an excellent allofmp3 alternative.

File Sharing Networks, or Peer to Peer (P2P), have been around for some time, and allow members of the network to exchange files held in a folder on their pc. There was some dubious press a few years back, when free network access meant adware popping up all over your screen. There are still free networks out there, but I prefer to use HotMP3Download a network with a one-off low joining fee, and then you're free to download unlimited music forever! The fee ensures the network is adware and spyware free, and provides technical support if you have any problems.

You can download all popular or current music, but the site is a goldmine for finding older or more obscure tracks that couldn't be found on allofmp3. Great if, like me, a lot of your vinyl isn't available on CD.

The amount of users has ballooned since the demise of allofmp3 (can't think why...), which means literally millions more files are available to download. Use the link in the module below "Finding Track Lists" to make sure you've got all of the tracks downloaded for a particular album (it's free).

Before you credit your account on an unknown download site (don't be tempted to load your account too heavily - the site may not be there tomorrow), try HotMP3Download.

This demo shows how easy it is to find the music you're looking for.

For an extra $10 on registration, HotMP3Download allows you to download movies and tv shows too.

Click here to access.

If you're looking for a track list for a particular album, or albums by an artist, or all you have is a song title, go to gracenote.com. It's the web's best database of digital music - free and has every artist, album and tracklist under the sun listed.