Not too long you bought your music on records. Then it became tapes, and then cds. The next wave in audio technology is mp3 downloads. Now technology has become so far advanced that there doesn’t even need to be a touchable product that the music you love is recorded on. Now it can all be virtual and held onto a device so tiny it’s not much bigger or thicker then a stick of gum.

The quality of sound you can get from Mp3 downloads is just as good, if not better, than what you can expect on a Cd. The price is also cheaper. Sometimes you can even get free mp3 downloads! Although the music industry has been cracking down on this free-sharing of mp3 downloads, it is still possible to find free mp3 downloads.

So, why is music downloads so popular? Well downloading music allows you to store all your favourite songs on an mp3 player. This makes it very simple to carry around your entire music collection wherever you go, and an mp3 player is so small that it’s not cumbersome like its predecessors the Walkman and Discman. No matter if you are on the public transit bus or waiting in line at the cafeteria, you can entertain yourself with all your music downloads!

So what about when you get home and want to hear your songs played on your computer (so you don’t have ear buds in all day long)? Well, most computers are capable in letting your hook your mp3 player into your usb so your songs will play right on your computer!  You can also burn your mp3 files to a cd to play in your cd player at home, the choice is yours.

While on your computer you can expand your music library even more by downloading more songs. The only limit is the amount of space your mp3 player has, most mp3 players can hold at least a thousand songs. Some have been known to hold 10,000 songs; you will never get bored with this amount of audio files at your fingers reach.

So what if the song I want isn’t available for free? Well you are in luck there! Most songs, if they are not free, cost roughly . Some are less, some are more, and it will depend on how the company selling the mp3’s prices them.  Be aware though, if a song you get for free is under copyright protection it is illegal to download them and this can be called piracy.

Unlike cds, mp3 stores allow you to choose just the songs you like from an album or the whole album. You will no longer have to dish out for a cd with only two songs you like. Though, with the digital format, you will be missing out on the album art, but if that’s not a big deal for you, download away!