Downloading music is a snap. Log on to your favorite file-sharing network using widely available software, and bingo, millions of songs are at your fingertips. But wait-it is illegal. That is stealing. You wouldn't steal a car, would you? You wouldn't break into a house to take a TV, right? Well, now you don't have to download music illegally and lay awake at night dwelling over your daily thievery (as if you did in the first place). There are several affordable alternatives that will fill your MP3 player, your blank CD’s, or your hard drive, and you can do it guilt-free.

iTunes: The Ultimate Music Library

With over 1,500,000 songs, the iTunes music store boasts one of the largest music libraries on the net. You can find almost anything you are looking for through this store. The great thing about iTunes is that you can purchase only songs you want, rather than needing to pay for an entire CD. If you only want one single from one CD of a particular band, no problem. The ninety-nine cent price tag isn't that bad, either. But if you do choose to buy the whole CD, it is often discounted from the dollar-a-song price if you were to purchase songs individually, offering users incentives to buy in bulk. These songs can be downloaded via the iTunes website, or through the iTunes program itself, updating your library automatically (with CD cover art). The system also boasts the ability to listen to a high-quality sample of nearly every song. Now, you can listen before you buy. What more could you ask for?

There are downsides if you choose to go this route. For one, the songs are protected, allowing you to share them with a total of five Macs or PCs, or a combination of each. If your house is networked with more than five computers, you are out of luck; or, if many friends want copies of your songs (which is illegal, anyways) you must choose only four. This policy is implemented with login information, where each computer that is "licensed" to play your purchased songs must have access to your iTunes account. You must share, then, your login and password information with the computers you choose to share with. The songs will also only load to your MP3 player through iTunes, ensuring that you can only load them on computers licensed to do so.

However, this program is ideal for the individual music lover who likes to pick and choose their music. Once you pay for the song, you have it forever. You can burn them to CD, listen to them on your computer, or blast them into your ears through any of your favorite MP3 players. Whether it be your iPod, your iRiver, a Creative Labs player, or any of the many others, it matters not. It is up to you. It is cheap and effective. It can, however, get expensive if you are an avid music downloader. A thousand songs will likely cost you about a thousand bucks.