Buying music online means you own it rather than license it. As such, the tracks won't suddenly disappear from your library. And there is no risk that the parent company will go bankrupt and take its music collection with it.
If you want to buy music rather than stream music, here are the best places to buy music online.
When you purchase a song or album online, you can receive the content in two ways:either digitally (as an MP3 file) or physically (as a CD or vinyl record). Amazon caters to both markets.
When you enter the list of a song or album available on Amazon, you will see a selection of available purchase options. Depending on availability, you can choose to grab the MP3 or physical version. The MP3 version is usually less expensive. If you purchase the CD version, you will usually receive a free copy of the MP3 version.
And remember, if you download the Amazon Music app, you can stream all of your digital music purchases from there.
Apple iTunes Store was the original online music store, and it continues to thrive to this day, albeit in a slightly revamped format. Most singles on iTunes are $0.99, though Popular Songs are usually $1.29. The default price for an album is $9.99.
But how do you access the iTunes Store? It depends on the operating system you are using.
Regardless of the application, the result is the same:you can buy a digital version of a song and download it to your device.
Beatport is the best online music store for electronic dance music (EDM) fans. You can buy music as singles or albums; most singles are $1.29 or $1.99, while albums are around $10.
One of the best features of the store is how easy it is to find new leads. EDM is notoriously difficult for newcomers to navigate – the sheer number of DJs, producers and remixers makes it hard to find fresh music you'll love. However, with Top 100 charts, DJ charts, endless genre categories, and even an accompanying blog, Beatport significantly lowers the barrier to entry.
7digital is arguably the king of hi-res music downloads. The company exists since 2004.
Most tracks are available in three formats:320kbps MP3 (standard quality), 16bit/44.1kHz FLAC (CD quality) and 24bit/96kHz FLAC (high resolution quality).
Unless you're an audiophile with an expensive speaker setup, the high-res version is probably an unnecessary expense. It's easy to spot which formats are available for which tracks/albums with the tags on the album artwork thumbnails.
The number of songs/albums available for purchase on 7digital is in the millions. As such, you can be sure you'll find the music you want, even if it belongs to a niche genre. All the latest hits from the world's biggest music stars are also available.
The other big name in the Hi-Res Audio world is HDtracks. It competes directly with 7digital.
There are both advantages and disadvantages compared to its rival. On the plus side, HDtracks has a greater number of audio formats available. The highest quality (24-bit/176.4KHz) tracks are a significant step up from the best hi-res tracks on 7digital, although most of the music available in the highest quality format falls into the genre of classical music.
On the other hand, the site is more oriented towards albums. If you prefer to buy singles, you may have better luck with 7digital.
Also, be sure to check out the various "Top" lists. They are divided by genre and allow you to explore the most popular music on the site for a given area.
(NB: Check out the best streaming services for audiophiles if you like hi-res music.)
Musicians have spent much of the last decade criticizing services like Spotify for their payment models. At $0.006 to $0.0084 per play, artists and bands need to rack up hundreds of thousands of plays before making any money.
Bandcamp, which is an independent platform, offers a more user-friendly model. Musicians can create their own stores on the site and sell their songs directly to fans.
As a buyer, you can download a track as many times as you want once you've paid for it. Physical CDs and vinyl records are also available for purchase (although shipping costs can sometimes be prohibitive).
Several formats are available for digital downloads, including MP3, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, OGG, WAV, and AIFF.
If you're a traditionalist who prefers owning CDs to digital music, check out CD Universe. The site is pretty basic, but it has one of the most in-depth collections of CDs and vinyl records available for purchase anywhere on the web. At last count, there were over 800,000 titles.
We also appreciate that CD Universe accepts payment via PayPal. This sets it apart from Amazon, the other big physical CD seller on our list. However, the cost of a CD is slightly higher on CD Universe.
Walmart might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of music, but the grocery giant has a long history of offering CDs and vinyl records in its stores and online. P>
The collection of tracks isn't as deep or as niche as Amazon et al., but if you're looking to pick up the latest music from today's stars, you'll find the albums readily available with competitive prices. /P>
And don't forget, Walmart offers pick-up service. You can get the music you want in physical form without waiting for a delivery person or needing to set foot in a store.
Everyone has their preferences and we are not going to say that one approach is better than another. It depends on whether you prefer the ease of Spotify or the legal ownership of buying music outright.
And don't forget that you can download your favorite albums from Spotify for offline listening. However, you cannot export them outside the Spotify ecosystem. 
