Overview:
Yahoo! Music Unlimited offers unlimited access to 2 million cd quality files including all of the biggest artists, and most of those "hard to find" favorites. I was very satisfied with my overall experience. Download speeds on a 28k dialup were my only complaint.
Membership Price:
$6.00 per Month
Payment Type:
Credit Card or Electronic Check
Operating Systems:
Windows, Mac, Linux
Refund Policy:
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
File Selection: Yahoo! Music Unlimited is one of the few sites that doesn't claim to have billions of songs. I believe that this is very smart because there is no way to verify how many files a site is actually providing. Yahoo! Music Unlimited does indead have a huge selection.
FreeMusicReview's minimum test requires searches in the basic genres of rock, hip hop, country, gospel, classical, pop, and jazz. I really tried to put Yahoo! Music Unlimited to the test by searching for every genre that I could think of or find on Billboard and other top music information sites and blogs. Every time, Yahoo! Music Unlimited had file selections that I could download that related to my search criteria.
I really couldn't believe it. I even found music from specific countries like Germany, Spain, South America, the Middle East, India, China and more.
Download Speed: Downloading files on Yahoo! Music Unlimited easily met the FreeMusicReviews minimum acceptable standard which is that 75% of downloads should take 2 minutes or less on a DSL connection. Most downloads were extremely fast and took less than 30 seconds to complete. When I performed downloads on multiple files, at the same time, over 60% still finished in under 2 minutes.
Expect significant slowing if you are using dialup connectivity (56k modem).
Sound Quality: After downloading more than 250 songs, I have concluded that Yahoo! Music Unlimited simply provides the most exceptional sound quality of any site I have tested. The files sounded the same whether I listened to them on the client, burned them to cds, or saved them to my iPod or my Zoon. Friends and family all enjoy listening to my "mixes."
I was so impressed with the clarity & overall sound quality of the music that I can't give it anything other than an "A+" (my best ever.)
Customer Service: Yahoo! Music Unlimited is one of the largest music downloading sites on the internet. It is amazing that they can keep up with all of the traffic. As a result it can sometimes be difficult to contact the Customer Service team.
Despite the issues discussed above, every "live" interaction with a representative of Yahoo! Music Unlimited has exceeded my expectations. Conversations were very helpful and courteous. All of my questions were answered thoroughly, and in a timely manner.
Ease of Use: Yahoo! Music Unlimited has a very cool website initially geared towards the
sales process. Once you become a member, their top of the line software makes downloading music as easy as counting to 3.
Software Compatibility: Yahoo! Music Unlimited offers software for most versions of Windows (95, 98, ME,
NT, 2000 and XP), as well as Mac (OS X and Classic) and
Linux.
Exchange/Refund Policy: MyMusicInc is
one of the few services that offers (and honors) a 100%
customer satisfaction guarantee.
The "hotest" service in early 2007 is eMusic. This is an awesome service that has two major benefits. One is that they are 100% compatible with any mp3 player including iPod and compatible with MACs. Another is that their free trial allows you to download and keep any 25 songs at no cost.
This site offers unlimited access to 2 million cd quality files including all of the biggest artists, and most of those "hard to find" favorites. My overall experience was GREAT! You pay for each download on Yahoo!, but the site has all the music you could ever want AND you know you are helping the Artists.
A great service that is limited geographically to the United States. Real Rhapsody created an easy, fast and secure music downloading environment. This service is great and they offer some other added
benefits including their free 14 day trial.
eMusic continues to be "hot" in LEGAL music downloading. This is an awesome service that has two major benefits. One is that they are 100% compatible with any mp3 player including iPod and compatible with MACs. Another is that their free trial allows you to download and keep any 25 songs at no cost.
Good! 
