So it’s 2010, and the times they are a-changin’. My cd rack is now non-existent, but I still want to find, listen to and buy new music regularly, and in the highest quality format available. When it comes to quality, MP3’s and the iTunes store’s m4a formats are both ‘lossy‘ music formats – meaning the quality of the audio is degraded by discarding data when the file is encoded. So for me, the only real options for buying music are lossless formats, and sweet delicious vinyl.
A lot of people might say that you can’t even tell the difference between a high quality mp3 and a lossless format such as flac, ape or wav – but those people probably don’t have a ZERO DAC headphone amp with Sennheiser 650’s or AKG701’s plugged into it (like I do). When you use a high quality audio system, the difference between lossy and lossless audio is like night and day.
So where does someone who is concerned with selection and audio quality go to get music, knowing that the iTunes store can’t adequately provide either of these things? Thankfully, there are options, and the iTunes store should be a shameful last resort for audiophiles anywhere.
My two big picks for not only finding new tracks, but also buying lossless audio and vinyl are Boomkat and Bleep. The reason why I love these sites is not just because you can buy wav or flac lossless formats (as well as vinyl records), but because they offer insightful selections, fully-fledged previews of the songs being sold, and have recommendations and reviews of what’s hot right now.
My taste in music is probably far from the norm, and I have a hard time figuring out what exactly I should be listening to – but when I scroll through the new releases and best sellers on either Boomkat or Bleep, I find myself drooling over selections from the likes of Joy Orbison, Scuba, Skream, Lazer Sword, Floating Points, and the Night Slugs crew.
So if you have a taste for both quality, and some more obscure picks in indie or electronic music, you need to be checking out the alternatives to iTunes that are currently available.
If you’re not so sure what new artists or genres you want to look for don’t worry – there are other places to start listening as well. The most savvy online music magazines out there will not only provide you with a commentary and some background about new and upcoming artists, but they will usually provide you with some free (and legal) mp3s to download and sample.
Some good mags to start browsing and listening to are:
Good luck, and keep DITC (Diggin In The Crates)!
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