Would an Audiofile really download music?

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)

It's the most efficient way I've found to discover music I might like but would otherwise never hear. Another excellent source for at least some types of music is emusic.com.

It's subscription based and inexpensive, provides samples, and delivers regular mp3's so that you're not limited to any particular playback device.