It is true that there are a lot of sites that offer free music downloads, but we have sorted them out to find the top 20 most reliable sites for free and legal music downloads.
You can download all the files from these sites for free because they are either public domain or their artists have permitted the use of their work.
The majority of ‘free’ sites are ad-supported, which means you will encounter different levels of distracting ads.
We have tried to make sure the list in this free music download sites are all safe as of the time of publishing; however, we cannot guarantee this at the time of your reading.
In order to protect yourself, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is that you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) before you access these sites.
By doing so, your streaming activity will be hidden and you will be protected from website owners, hackers, and your ISP.
The best Music Download Sites actually depend on the kind of music you want to listen to. The Internet Archive and Bandcamp, for example, emphasize accessibility and variety.
Some are more tailored to specific niches, such as Beatstars for producers or YouTube Audio Library for creators of all kinds.
Let’s get started to list the top 20 best free music download sites.
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Top 20 Best Free Music Download Sites
1. Audiomack
On Audiomack, All the tracks is 100 percent legal and free to stream, and depending on the artist, available as free music downloads as well (mostly in MP3 format).
Search by artist, album or track. Popular music genres include reggae, pop, R&B, hip-hop, instrumental, and afrobeats.
Audiomack goes global with video content, playlists, photo essays, and interviews from New York to the universe and back.
Audiomack is one the best Music Download Sites.
2. Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive (FMA), founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU, offers free access to open licensed, original music. Many curators, netlabels and independent musicians around the world contribut to FMA.
You don’t need to create an account, you can download and listen to music without paying (with your private data).
Charts guide you through popular tracks and the top music for the week and the month. There are also 16 genres to pick from, like blues, jazz, pop, electronic, instrumental, Soul-RnB.
3. Internet Audio Archive
The Internet Archive began in 1996 by archiving the Internet itself as a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
The Internet Archive’s audio library contains 14 million audio recordings, including 220 000 live concerts, ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded users.
You can search for artist, album, or track. ‘Selling right now’ and ‘new and noteworthy’ sections offer great recommendations. Mostly MP3s formats available for free download and streaming.
4. Jamendo Music
Jamendo Music was the first platform to legally share music for free from any creator under Creative Commons licenses.
You can download from a huge catalog of more than 500,000 tracks shared by 40,000 artists from over 150 countries all over the world. You can stream all the music for free, download it and support the artist: become a music explorer and be a part of a great discovery experience.
Jamendo’s mission is to offer the perfect platform for all independent artists wishing to share their creations as easily as possible, reaching new audiences internationally. Their philosophy is that any artist in the world is entitled to share his music and should have a chance to be heard by a greater number of people around the world.
Discover new tracks by viewing the most popular music and the songs that trending. There’s a filter to see recently added songs. Search for artists tby name. Another way to find great music here is by listening to their radio channels.
Jamendo is one the best Music Download Sites.
5. Musopen
Musopen, one the best Music Download Sites is a non-profit organization focused on improving access and exposure to music by creating free resources and educational materials.
The site features more than 110,000 royalty free, expertly composed and handpicked, high-quality audio files, discover and download stock audio across all genres.
Categories include Corporate Music, Background Music, Cinematic Music, Hip Hop, Funk and Pop.
6. NoiseTrade
As the name suggests, you need to trade certain information through social media if you want to download any song from this website.
NoiseTrade helps both artists and labels connect directly with fans through the exchange of email addresses and postal codes.
This is one the best Music Download Sites where you can get online music without paying. Millions of songs are free to download from 19 different genres. The site is absolutely free and music downloads are instantaneous.
7. ReverbNation
On ReverbNation, you’ll find over 3.5 million artists to discover and share with friends. It is one of the best MP3 download sites that helps you find all types of upcoming artists.
Check out songs, videos, photos, and event schedules.
Shoot your favorite Artist a question. Then share your discoveries with friends through any of your favorite social networks or email.
Not every song can be downloaded, although you can stream it on your smartphone, tablet, or desktop. Downloadable songs are indicated by a small download button next to the song.
8. Soundcloud
Soundcloud lets you stream and download select free music (browse through the Creative Commons section or search for music tagged as free).
Not all music can be downloaded, and some require you to Like a Facebook page to get the file. Some tracks can be downloaded instantly and without an account by either showing a ‘Download file’ button in the ‘More’ menu or a ‘Free Download’ button under the title.
9. StoryBlocks
Storyblocks is one of music download sites that offers all the stock of Music and Sound effects you need with a low-cost subscription.
It is one of the best mp3 download sites that allows you to use royalty-free audio content multiple times for commercial and personal projects.
Not all music can be downloaded, and some require you to Like a Facebook page to get the file. Some tracks can be downloaded instantly and without an account by either showing a ‘Download file’ button in the ‘More’ menu or a ‘Free Download’ button under the title.
10. BeatStars
BeatStars features a dedicated category with free downloads.
Sort by newly added songs, and filter by genre and several moods, such as mellow, lazy, inspiring, and silly. Other filters include key, instrument, BPM, duration, release date, and energy level.
11. CC Trax
Songs on CC Trax are available as free Creative Common music. The website has a nice layout where you can search for music according to license, genre, label, and artist.
Categories are limited to Electronica, Dub, Techno, Downtempo and Ambient.
12. Incompetech
Incompetech is more focused on instrumental work made for relaxation or to use as ambient noise or in videos.
A large selection of genres include F/X Sounds, Holiday, HipHop, Rap, Jazz, Funk, Lounge, Cinematic and many more. Charts are updated daily.
13. Indie Shuffle
Indie Shuffle was founded in 2009. Despite their name, they cover a diverse selection of genres, including indie rock, electronic, soul and everything in between.
Find tracks by genre, popular, random or the curated “Best New Songs” list.
14. Last FM
The site features hundreds of free music downloads across all genres as well as thousands of free streaming titles.
Browse by category, new releases, coming soon, or by scrolling through the entire list.
15. Soundclick
Artists (signed and unsigned) on Soundclick offer tracks and albums either as free streams, downloads of for a fee.
You can browse charts and genres, create custom radio stations, interact with other listeners in forums, and read background and updates about artists.
16. Spinrilla
You can download free hip-hop mixtapes at Spinrilla and also stream and watch music videos.
Search by trending, popular and upcoming.
17. Amazon
There are many thousands of legal, free music downloads at Amazon Music.
You can search for titles by genre, sorting by popularity, release date, length of the song, reviews, or in alphabetical order by title, artist, or album.
You can sample songs before downloading them, and when you’re ready, just add the item to your cart.
Then, just check out as if you were purchasing something. You’ll be taken to a link to download the free music, and it’ll also be saved in the Digital Orders tab of your order history.
Regular membership is $9.99 per month and with Prime membership it costs $7.99 per month. Even if you decide that’s not for you, you can enjoy your 30-day free trial!
18. Datpiff
On Datpiff, you will get a wide selection of mixtapes made by fans, but also releases from artists providing their music for free. Note: not everything is free.
Search by most listened, most downloaded, highest rated, and ‘hot this week’.
19. Bandcamp
Bandcamp makes it super easy for musicians to share their music in a ‘name your price’ kind of setting. This means that while listeners can pay for the music, they also have the option to put a zero in the payment box and download the song for free.
Bandcamp has a discover page which is a great way to find the best-selling music on the site. Keep in mind that not all songs can be downloaded for free.
20. YouTube
YouTube features a wide range of songs, albums, playlists, and artists. Downloading free tracks from YouTube can be a bit tricky and to do so you need to create a filter under Creative Commons License.
YouTube is one the best Music Download Sites.
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CONCLUSION
Nowadays, it is relatively easy to find downloadable music for free because of technological advancements. You can find such sites online, visit them and look for the download button.
All you need to do is find a good online music streaming service and pick it up. Sites offering free mp3 music downloads are the best option for enjoying free music.