Online music download services are a relatively new concept that is catching like wildfire. Many people have stopped buying CDs and gone completely digital. They like having the ability to download individual songs on demand and the low cost option download services offer. 

Many companies have joined the digital music revolution and begun offering cheaper options.  A recent development is the monthly music download service where customers can download music for a bulk price. Napster, Rhapsody, and Emusic are the largest of these.

I've been trying all the music services I can find. I've got the breakdown and comparisons so you can decide which download services are best for your money. Below are the top three companies, their costs and features.

To see a comparison chart of all the services check here.

# of songs -   2 million
Song format -  MP3
Monthly price -   $9.99
Price per song -  $0.30

• 25 Free songs for new sign-ups. You can keep the free songs even if you decide to quit the service and you won't be charged. 

• Only online music service with universally compatible MP3 format for all their music—This format is DRM free and will work on any MP3 player,       including iPods.

• Only music service that lets you to burn as many CDs as you want and      copy downloads to an unlimited number of computers and MP3 players.

• Great selection and variety of music including many independent artists that can't be found elsewhere

 Try it for free here:

# of songs -   3 million
Song format -  WMA
Monthly price -   $12.95
Price per song -  $0.99

• Free trial for 7 days.  You have to enter your credit card but if you don't like it you can cancel before the trial is up and you won't be charged anything.   

• Listen to a whole track up to three times before purchasing it to keep or do the monthly unlimited service and get all 3 million songs.

• Bigger list of songs than most music services; by about a million songs.

• Unlimited music downloads.  You can download and listen to as much music as you want as long as you're a member.    

• Song format is .wma so it works on tons of other stuff, not just on their software.

# of songs -  2 million    
Song format -  .rax
Monthly price -   $12.99
Price per song -  $0.99 or $0.89 for members

• Free trial for 14 days.  You have to enter your credit card but if you  don't like it you can cancel before the trial is up and you won't be charged anything.  

• The software is great for use as your default player.  It's higher quality than some of the others and searching is really easy.

• Unlimited music downloads.  You can download and get as much music  as you want as long as you're a member.

• You have the option to buy individual songs to keep, or you    can just listen to them until you quit the service. It's like borrowing them from the library for as long as you want.
  

Try it for free here:

- Do I really get "unlimited music downloads"?

- Why do they ask for a credit card? It's a free trial.  

- Will they charge me?

- How do the artists get paid?