Where to find FREE MUSIC downloads

By Stacy Fisher

Updated October 26, 2017

There are plenty of websites out there that offer free music downloads and I’ve weeded through them so you can find only the best and brightest in this list of the best 11 places to get free music downloads legally.

At these websites, you’ll be able to get free music downloads in high-quality MP3 format so they’ll play on your computer and phone. Since you can download and save them, they’ll forever be yours.

All the free music downloads here are legal so they are either public domain or in most cases the artists have given permission for you to download and enjoy their hard work. That means you can feel great about listening to the music and discovering some hidden gems you might have otherwise passed up.

After you’re done getting some free music downloads, you might also like to find out the best places to listen to free music online, where to watch free music videos, and the best free music apps.

1

Jamendo

Jamendo

All the free music downloads at Jamendo are made available through Creative Commons licensing meaning that the artists themselves have decided they want to give out their music for free for the masses to enjoy.

You can discover new music at Jamendo by viewing the most popular, most downloads, most played, the latest releases of the free music downloads, and editor-curated lists. You can also search for artists that you know to see if their music is available for download.

Another way to find great music here is by listing to one of the Jamendo radio channels. When you find a song or artist you like, you can then download that single track or the entire album.

If you’d rather stream the music at Jamendo instead of download it, they give you that option too.

Jamendo has free apps (here) available for the Android, iOS, and Windows. More

2

NoiseTrade

NoiseTrade

You can download thousands of free music albums from NoiseTrade, and they’re all completely legal to take. The artists want you to check out their creations and if you like it and are inclined to do so, you can tip them or help promote them to your friends.

You’ll need to enter your email address and zip code for each album you want to download and then you’ll get to download the album as a ZIP file which contains the MP3 files.

You can easily find new albums you want to download by viewing the top downloads and new and notable sections on the homepage.

NoiseTrade also offers free ebook and audiobook downloads for authors who would like to share and earn your tip. More

3

Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive

You can also download free music at Free Music Archive, which is directed by the freeform radio station WFMU. The music here is free for you to legally download (even without a user account) and is a mix of public domain and Creative Commons licenses.

The easiest way to find music you’d like to download at Free Music Archive is to browse through the genres of music or watch their blog for collections, artists, or songs they’ll highlight. They also have top charts for all time, this week, and this month.

If you create a free account at Free Music Archive you’ll be able to make your own collections and interact with other listeners. More

4

Amazon

There are thousands and thousands of free music downloads at Amazon.com, making it one of my favorite websites to visit when I’m looking for new music to download legally.

Download Free Music From Amazon

You can see the all the free music downloads by clicking on a genre or sorting by popularity, release date, length of the song, reviews, or in alphabetical order by title, artist, or album.

You can play the songs before downloading them, but when you’re ready to save the songs to your computer, click on the Free button to add it to your cart. Then, you can checkout as if you were purchasing something by clicking Place your order. You’ll then be taken to a link to download the free music.

5

Internet Archive’s Audio Library

Internet Archive’s Audio Library has millions of results for free downloads of music, audio, podcasts, radio programs, and most notably their Live Music Archive.

You can sort the free music downloads by most viewed items, title, date published, or creator.

You’ll find all kinds of artists with free music downloads here including Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Grateful Dead, 311, and Smashing Pumpkins.

There are usually multiple file formats that you can download the free music in, like MP3 and OGG. More

6

SoundClick

SoundClick

SoundClick is the ultimate portal into finding free music downloads directly from the artists websites. These artists have decided they’d like to let people download their music for free. This includes signed and unsigned musicians.

With SoundClick, you can browse through the music charts and genres until you find a free music download you’d like to have and then either listen to or download that song.

You can also create custom radio stations, get to know other listeners on the forums, or read more about your favorite SoundClick artists.

While you can, of course, download free music from SoundClick, some artists make their music available only after you’ve paid for the download, and others allow streaming only.  More

7

Last.fm

Last.fm

Last.fm has several pages of free music downloads that fall into all genres. You can browse these free downloads by category, new releases, coming soon, or simply looking through the whole list.

Just one click will download your chosen song.

Besides free music downloads, you can also stream thousands of songs and get recommendations of bands you’ll love. More

8

SoundCloud

SoundCloud Ltd.

SoundCloud is a website that lets you stream and download free music. Content at SoundCloud is sometimes uploaded by professional artists, while others are shared by independent musicians.

Not all music on SoundCloud can be downloaded, and some require you to Like a Facebook page to get the file. However, music that can be downloaded instantly and without an account have a Download button next to them. More

9

ARTISTdirect

ARTISTdirect is a digital media entertainment company that offers music streaming and free downloads.

Not all the music at the ARTISTdirect website is free, but the above link shows lists several pages in length where you can download free music. Some of the music genres you can find at ARTISTdirect is indie rock, Latin, pop, country, and blues. More

10

CCTrax

CCTrax

CCTrax has free Creative Common music available for downloading with categories like ambient, techno, electronica, and jazz.

Streaming and downloading music from CCTrax is done without an account or login of any sort. You can even download a whole album at once.

All songs can be downloaded as MP3 but some have an additional option where you can get the song in the FLAC file format. More