Would an Audiofile really download music?

I use Windows medial player (on my Macintosh) along with QuickTime to review music I'm interested in buying.

While searching through LP's or tapes at Audiogon and Ebay, I'll have another browser page open at AMG and the artist located via their search.

I read the reviews to see how the album rates, when it was released, who played on each cut, and listen to a few free samples.

This procedure has saved me from buying some dogs and prompted me to experiment when I was uncertain.

For those not familiar, here's a link:

AMG

Why don't you go to Amazon and listen to their sample cuts? What do you do with the mp3 file when you're done? I'm just wondering if anyone is going to the dark side or if someday we will be forced to?

I don't see why not if it is in a lossless format like FLAC or Shorten. The reason is you can get great music that you can't get in a store. The only way to get it is to download it. Here is a site that has great music that is free and legal.

First, thank you for the link Albert. Now in regard to the question. Being an audiophile is separate from my love of music. In the days of Napster, I downloaded quite a bit of oldies that I was unable to find for purchase or didn't care about purchasing more than the single song. I wouldn't download pieces that I wanted for serious listening. I view the interest in vinyl and what seems to be an increased availablity as a sign that there will always be good quality recordings in different formats for critical listening for those who want them.

Sure. It's just another tool to discover new music. You do seek out new music, right? ;-) (wink, wink)