In keeping with spirit of internet, most of major legal music sites are offering free mp3 files just for signing up, for keeping your subscription current and in general obeying rules of site.

Note: Usually, there is an extensive trial period. If you really want free music, you can sign up for multiple sites and get access to hundreds of free mp3 downloads for little or no money up front.

2. Size Limits The legal music download sites mostly distribute music from reputable labels and artists. This means, that you won’t find extensive mixes, and custom files that will slow down your connection and take forever to download. Also, relatively small files gives some assurance to music retail industry that a site is actually selling music files and not illegal video games or movies which can be hundreds of times larger.

3. Volume limits Legal music download sites usually distribute their material on a per song basis. One of major advantages of buying your music online is that you don’t have to spend $17 for an entire album if you only want 3 or 4 songs. The legal sites will set up song volume limits as well as file transfer limits. This prevents unscrupulous customers from setting up their computers to copy hundreds of files in a few hours.

Note: even if you are music fan – Really, why would you need 300 songs at once?

4. Larger databases, Larger costs One peculiarity of legal music download stores and file sharing services is that variety comes with a price. The larger, more established services will give you access to hundreds of thousands of song, but it will cost you. Expect to pay an average of $1-$3 per song. If you work it out, average album will probably cost a little bit more than a CD from Wal-Mart or Target.

Keep in mind, that legal music download sites must give a portion of their fees back to recording industry. Also, songs are not disposable since sound quality probably won’t degrade over time. Even CDs can get scratched and lose their quality after a while.

Here is a rundown of top features of iTunes store:

1. Largest legal download catalog on web Songs from all major record labels and all hottest stars are available on iTunes. Currently over 1,000,000 songs are available including over 100,000 from independent artists and independent labels. Out of print collection includes old Motown Hits and old Jazz albums.

2. Preview songs with 30 second clips If you want to try something new, just listen for 30 seconds before you buy. You are paying per song so there’s no need to get an entire album if you only like a few tracks.

3. Sync up with your iPod You can easily download songs, pictures, or text files from iTunes and put them on your iPod. Use iTunes to search for music, organize playlists and share music with your friends. Then use iPod to take your favorite songs with you throughout day. The newest models can hold up to 10,000 songs.

4. Stream music wirelessly throughout your entire house Hook up instructions are linked directly from main page.

5. Discover music Find out what’s playing on music stations all around country. Currently, over 1,000 major music stations are on list. This really helps because you can get access to more music in case you have a small collection and get tired of listening to your music mixes.