Saving Money / Entertainment
Filtering out all the websites offering free music downloads can take a lot of time and effort. How do you know what is legal to use and still quality? This article breaks down five of the best websites where you can legally download your favorite music in 2022.
These sites are all free to use from the public domain with permission from the artists. Users can easily listen to and download music without fear of paying penalties and fees. They might even discover new musical treasures from artists they may have overlooked in the past.
The list isn’t in any particular order, but the sites are some of the most popular to choose from in 2022. Here are five of the best free and legal music download sites and some pros and cons of using them.
SoundClick
| Benefits | The inconvenients |
|---|---|
| Lots of music download discounts | Some songs only allow streaming |
| No login required | Free music is mixed with paid music |
| Lots of music genres to choose from | Not all songs are free |
SoundClick offers benefits for listeners, bands and artists. Launched in 1997, SoundClick was one of the first free music download sites. It offers millions of songs and features new artists. Users can create their own profile page to connect with other listeners and their favorite musicians. Creating a playlist is easy and users can follow other users’ playlists including their updates.
SoundClick allows users to download free music directly from artists’ websites. Users can also create personalized radio stations, read articles about their favorite artists, and connect with other listeners on the site’s community forums.
ReverbNation
| Benefits | The inconvenients |
|---|---|
| Browse music downloads by genre | Must create an account to download some songs |
| Stream and download songs | Not all songs are free to download |
| Features new artists |
Joining ReverbNation is easy for artists and their fans. Recording artists can reach millions of fans and promote their music on this popular music download site. With a focus on artists, ReverbNation keeps them in touch with their fans through email and social media. New artists can kick-start their music career and get feedback on their songs using a feature called Crowd Review.
If music enthusiasts are looking to discover music from lesser-known artists, then ReberbNation might be one of the best free music download sites to check out. Popular bands such as The Civil Wars and Imagine Dragons debuted on ReverbNation’s website.
Finding music to download on ReberbNation is easy. Users can use the Discover page if they aren’t sure where to start looking for new music. The Charts page allows users to search for music by genre.
SoundCloud
| Benefits | The inconvenients |
|---|---|
| Stream tracks before downloading them | You must create a user account and log in to use |
| Offers a variety of music from new, up-and-coming, and well-known artists | Hard to find free music options |
| Easier to use compared to many other music download sites |
SoundCloud offers ad-free, offline listening with over 150 million music tracks. Like other music download sites, SoundCloud is good for artists and fans. In addition to the web app, a companion mobile app is available on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, Xbox One, Chromecast, and Sonos. The site allows users to search trending playlists to discover new tracks in different genres, such as top 50, rap, party music, holiday music, and more.
band camp
| Benefits | The inconvenients |
|---|---|
| Download music without user account | Not all songs on the site are free to download |
| Includes many exclusive tracks not found on other music download sites | Having to search all pages to find free options |
| Download individual songs and full albums | Takes a significant share of artists’ download profits |
BandCamp users can download music for free – and fans can directly support their favorite artists by choosing to pay for downloads. The company follows the policy of fair trade in music and believes that artists should be compensated fairly. However, BandCamp charges artists 15% of profits made on digital downloads.
BandCamp users can enjoy unlimited mobile streaming on Android and iOS devices. If users choose to purchase music from the site, they have access to high-quality downloads and can re-download them at any time. If users aren’t sure what they want to download, they can create a wishlist to easily track what they might want to listen to later. When users follow their favorite artists, they can sign up to be notified when their band or singer releases new music.
Jamendo Music
| Benefits | The inconvenients |
|---|---|
| Includes mobile app | Must have a user account to access downloads |
| Stream and download music | Download quality is not high definition (HD) |
| Includes an online radio function | The only format available is MP3 |
Jamendo Music users have the ability to download royalty-free music for commercial use in music videos and background music for venue events. Background music is offered as a two-week free trial. After the two weeks, subscriptions range from $4.99 to $19.99 per month.
Jamendo Music categorizes musical selections into hashtagged genres called communities. Some of the most interesting music communities include #filmscore, #dark, #happy, #sad, and #energetic.
Carry
Streaming quality music is convenient, but a listener may not have lifetime access to selected tracks at no cost. A good alternative is to download music for free from some of the best free music download sites of 2022. Fortunately, the sites featured in this article are not only free but completely legal.
useful advice
Some listeners prefer to stream songs instead of downloading them. Many sites allow music fans to listen to the music they love for free without taking up space on their computer or mobile device. Here are some of the best and most popular music streaming sites.
- pandora
- Spotify
- Amazon Prime Music
To listen for free, users have to endure ads, but there are millions of songs and albums available.
