A BOOKMARK HELPS YOU FIND US AGAIN

New CDs · Used CDs · Agents · Charts · Reviews · Links · Lists · FAQ · Comparison Chart · Crib Sheet · Search · Videos · Books

These stores are selected for having a sizable inventory of compact disks and on-line ordering. You're not likely to save more than a few pennies for just one new title that is in stock and sold locally at retail in the U.S. because the postage will eat up any savings. But if you buy many titles or are buying from abroad where prices are unusually high, savings are possible for the careful buyer. If you don't live near a large store, you can shop with confidence at the larger online stores and a few will even let you return opened merchandise. All stores featured here have their inventory list available for display to web buyers either through a search engine or occasionally via pages that can be browsed.

  New CDs

Toll-free call discount sites

Unless otherwise indicated all of the sites in this toll-free call section are equipped with electronic shopping carts and secure commerce servers.

For additional details about the largest Toll-free sites, see the Comparison Chart

(150,000 titles) - (888) 227-6863 e-mail Vancouver, BC Typically at least a 20% discount from this Canadian chain store that has been in business for over 35 years. The company has posted a solid privacy policy, but shipping is higher than competing sites and customs duties are not included in the pricing.

  (180,000 titles) - (800) 201-7575 e-mail Seattle, WA Typically 5-10% discount This popular retail on-line discount book site now sells music too. A lot of money has gone into building this virtual sales site and it shows. The search engine is unusually powerful for books, but not quite as good for music, since you cannot even search by song title. The site also has best seller lists, a chat room, special offers, prizes, etc. The response time was 20 seconds to return a short list of music titles. Eighteen genres are represented including classical.

 Toll free support or orders (888) 880-1030
This discounted e-commerce site (160,000 titles) allows searches by possible by artist, album and song. A basic detail screen is available for each title with track listings and some RealAudio sample clips. The response time was about 25 seconds to return a short list of titles. The company also sells videos, books, games, electronics, computers and software. They claim to accept reader reviews, but the evidence is sparse..

  (250,000 titles) - (800) 595-6874/(800) 461-9233 e-mail Jenkintown, PA Typically 5% discount, accepts ecash or PGP. No phone orders. Rated in the BizRate Guide Top 25. This market leader in music sales on the web has an advanced search engine, a huge database and web pages in many different languages. It is one of the few sites that can display reviews and album notes and they have a generous returns policy for opened CDs! They also have an aid to find an artist if you don't know the exact spelling of the name.

 (200,000 titles) - (800) 231-7937 e-mail Wallingford, CT Typically 3-10% discount. No phone orders. Rated in the BizRate Guide Top 25 The detail screen for the albums is rich with detail not found on any other site. They also have a custom newsletter. This is a substantial site and many other sites use this one to fulfill their online music sales.

 (160,000 titles) - (800) 295-1931 e-mail Nashville, TN Typically 15% discount for new albums. They also have used CDs, import titles plus VHS & DVD movies and will trade unwanted CDs for store credit.

 Tollfree support (800) 668-7053

This is the well-known discount bookseller online with many music titles as well. It is based in a suburb of Hackensack, NJ. Members do not get a special discount. Bestseller lists are included on the site. There is some concern about spamming from B&N. The response time varies from 35 seconds to several minutes to return a short list of titles and it definitely tested at this writing as the slowest of any large bookseller site we have checked.

Non-discount sites:

BestBuy (200,000) - (800) 992-2358 e-mail national chain store offerings
Music Factory (300,000) - (800) 730-5934 e-mail Brooklyn, NY Can also order by phone or from their mail-order catalog
Rock.com Music Network (300,000) - (888) 762-5731 e-mail New York, NY
Sound Garden CD Joint (230,000) - (800) 851-7773 e-mail No shopping cart, you paste your order items into a form and submit it unsecured over the web at list prices
Tower (200,000) - (800) 648-4844 - e-mail list price at this CA site with a secure server. Rated in the BizRate Guide Top 25, but cookies mandatory
fye.com (200,000) - (800) 226-3568 msg e-mail list prices - Camelot chain with a secure server

New CDs · Used CDs · Agents · Charts · Reviews · Links · Lists

Toll call sites

AbbyRoad (150,000) - (425) 883-8305 - e-mail WA - (18%) offers music and videos
Blockbusters (145,000) - (214) 854-3513 e-mail TX - (20%) [site 800# is wrong]
CD Banzai (600,000 "items") eng/fr- (818) 980-0054 - e-mail CA - (list price) slow site
CD Connection (200,000) - (408) 985-7905 - e-mail CA - (15%)
cdeurope (buyer beware) - searchable -(954) 481-1724 e-mail FL - powersearch feature
Complete CD (150,000 CDs 8000 Movies) - (941) 377-0872 e-mail FL (24%)
CD Source (320,000 "items") - (740) 587-4051 (740) 587-7412 FAX e-mail OH (17%)
CDs Unlimited (270,000) - (610) 688-9166 - e-mail PA - (5%)
Cheap-CDs (60,000) - (714) 994-2367 (714) 994-2149 FAX - e-mail CA - really cheap, typically discounted at 33% with no membership fee!
E Music: (130,000) - (310) 395-9045 - e-mail CA (near list) CD's, Cassettes, Music
Mad Hatteur Music (265,000) - (414) 921-3720 - e-mail WI (18%)
massmusic (250,000 music titles, 5,000 movie titles) - (510) 477-0494 - e-mail CA (4%) power search (buyers beware - on WAB Watch List)
Musicimports.com (575,000) - 800-230-1228 e-mail Ft Lauderdale, FL CD's, LP's, Videos, DVD's and Cassettes
MusicOnSale.com - (270,000) - (212) 714-4734 - e-mail NY (15%)
Music Strip (280,000) - (317) 955-0541 e-mail Indianapolis, IN - all media types
Rock Dreams Online - (609) 890-0202 - e-mail Mercerville, NJ  (list)
WMI Music   (498,000) - Canadian distributor (403) 285-6909 e-mail

Don't call us, only FAX us or e-mail us

These companies are not equipped for customer voice traffic, so they list an alternate on their site

AllegroMusic (15,000) - (800) 288-2007 e-mail OR full list of CDs via e-mail
Cybermusicsurplus (5,000) - (800) 288-2007 e-mail OR (50-80% discount) CDs online
GEMM Global Electronic Music Marketplace (1,750,000) - a consortium of over 1200 retailers (619) 651-4284 voice e-mail CA
K-Tel (250,000) - 818 223-4211 818 223-4200 FAX e-mail Calabasas, CA TV music
Launch - (unknown) (310) 526-4000 Santa Monica, CA e-mail - very slow site
Minstrel Music (265,000) - (206) 325 0100 voice e-mail WA (list)
Music Strip (200,000) - (317) 293-1174 e-mail Indianapolis, IN (list+) - all media types
MusicWorldCD - (175,000) - (206) 770-9637 (253) 770-1177 FAX e-mail WA (10%)
Nordic Downloadable Music - (4100) - (707) 252-4382 voice e-mail CA - these unique electronic versions are purchased with cybercoin electronic money.
OnCue (unknown) - (888) 541-9888 - e-mail Minnetonka, MN
Songsearch CD Store (180,000) - (909) 793-9784 (909) 794-3566 FAX - e-mail CA (hefty 33% discount!)

Non-U.S. sites from abroad

Action-records - a British site with a wide selection
Ariman - a used CD dealer in Finland who wants to buy used CDs
CDParadise (200,000) 011 44 1865 771772 British site
CD-Plus (65,000) - (800) 263-4020 Canadian site.
CD Studio - a Brazilian site that is probably in Portuguese
Cheap or What (cow.co.uk) (200,000) - 011 44 1308 427900 e-mail
CyberCD (450,000) - 011 49 202 3096 541 e-mail a fancy German/English site
Ellesdesia Online - (150,000) - site in Nederland
Esprit Internation - a large UK dealer in rare records and CDs, must download catalog
Eureka Records (22,000 records) - a record dealer in the UK
Leisuredome - British site for instruments, sheet music, software
Multicultural Media - music and videos from around the world
MusicMailExpress - 011 31 172-57 14 32 - e-mail
Music Room (150,000 titles) - sheet music+44 (0)1284 725 725 e-mail
Naturenet - a Brazilian site
Pendulo (20,000) - a fashionably done Mexican site in Spanish
Replay-Records (50,000 records) a UK site specializing in dance music
Revolution CD (25,000) - Australian CD and Games Exchange
Rockguiden - Swedish on-line store with 130.000 searchable titles 011 46 31 422205
Rough Trade - UK site
Sound World Newcastle - Australian music site for CDs..
VinylTap Rare Records - a British site for used items
 

New CDs · Used CDs · Agents · Charts · Reviews · Links · Lists

  Used CDs & Other Music

AB-CD Planetwide (8000) - (203) 831-8301 e-mail (10%) Norwalk, CT - new and used
AlternativeMusic (unknown) - (716) 244-8476 (716) 244-8421 FAX e-mail
Around the World - (4000) - (818) 366-1025 (818) 363-3472 FAX e-mail promo CDs, etc
Audio House (8,000) - (810) 695-3415 e-mail Grand Blanc, MI - Used Compact Disks
BopShop (10,000) - (716) 271-3354 e-mail NY LPs for blues, jazz, soul, doo-wop, folk
California Albums (100,000) - (213) 461-4862 FAX e-mail Hollywood, CA - Vinyl, LPs
Cash for CDs.com - (805) 967-4061 Cash for used CDs using the autoquote system
CDCellar.com (140,000) - (888) 668-3676 - e-mail Tarzana, CA - new and used
CellophaneSquare (20,000) - (206) 634-0795 e-mail Seattle, WA - used, rare
Compact Discovery (132,000) - (888) 367-8237 e-mail Nashville, TN (10%) new/used
Dr.Wax (15,000) - (888) 289-2366 - e-mail Chicago, IL - new (at list), used titles offline
Forever Vinyl (500,000) - (732) 505-3646 e-mail Lakehurst, NJ - Scott Neuman's used
GoodNoise (unknown) - (650) 556-9733 e-mail Redwood City, CA downloadable MP3s
HotPlatters (60,000) - (805) 492-3682 e-mail Thousand Oaks, CA - vinyl/tapes/books
Jump Music (300,000) - (650) 917-7460 e-mail Mountain View, CA 94040 - sheet music
Memory Lane (100,000) - (800) 326-5343 e-mail Tempe, AZ used records, tapes, CDs
Midnight Records - (30,000) - (212) 675-2768 e-mail New York, NY - CD's, Vinyl
Music & Movie Warehouse (11,000) - (319) 524-1152 e-mail Keokuk, IA - cheap CDs.
Music for a Song (15,000) - (770) 919-2115 e-mail Marietta, GA new, used
MusicForce (7,000) - (214) 827-1006 e-mail Dallas, TX - Christian music
MusicPile (220,000) - (877) 888-7453 (toll-free) buy/sell site Alpharetta, GA
Music Man (250,000) - (410) 747-3708 e-mail Baltimore, MD - vintage vinyl, LP's & 45's
Paula's House of Music (15,000) - (806) 793-0111 e-mail Lubbock, TX - vintage vinyl, LP's & 45's
Platterpus Records (8000) - (502) 587-8837 e-mail Louisville, KY - LPs & 45s
RPM Records (unknown) - (888) 277-6732 e-mail Garland TX - unusual CD and LP items
Second Spin (50,000) - (800) 962-6445 e-mail Denver, CO - buy/sell used CDs & Movies
Sheet-Music (100,000) - (888) 743-3868 e-mail Loma Linda, CA - sheet music only
Southland CD (unknown) - (310) 379 6300 e-mail Los Angeles, CA - rare and promotional CDs
Vintage Vinyl (unknown) - (732) 225-7717 - e-mail Fords, NJ - CDs, records,tapes
Vinyl Vendors (110,000) - (310) 275-1444 e-mail LA, CA - sells CDs, cassettes and vinyl
World Party (155,000) - (610) 566-9424 e-mail Media, PA - new & used CDs

   Filesharing Networks

(also see Harvard Summary)

Client	Network (s)	Approx. users	Legalities	Comment	Spyware*
Morpheus	FastTrack, Gnutella2, Gnutell1, eDonkey2000	200K (2003)	Still in courts	Strong content see spyware-->	Removal Note
Kazaa	FastTrack, Altnet	2700K	Licensed Content	Quick downloads, use Diet K, weak content	Removal Note,
Winmx	WPNP	6000K	Licensed Content	Very Long Ques	none
Bearshare$ / LimeWire	Gnutella1	1300K		Looong waits	Removal Note, Removal Note
IMesh	FastTrack	1400K	RIAA contract		Removal Note
BitTorrent	BitTorrent	400K		weak content	none
Grokster	FastTrack	500K			Removal Note
eDonkey	eDonkey2K	1600K		Mac avail. too	Removal Note
eMule	eDonkey2K	1600K		Some long downloads strong content	none
Shareaza	Gnutella2, Gnutell1, eDonkey2K	>1000K?		weak content	none
DirectConnect	DirectConnect	288K			adware
Blubster	M2P2 private net	claims 10000K			Removal Note

* a special problem of some spyware is that once it is installed, you must buy other software to remove it.

But whatever happened to Aimster? Just ask the RIAA. (p.s. look here)

List of Napster Alternatives - basic list with user ratings from mp3decoderz.com

File-Exchange Programs - long lists from MusicTarget.com and FileshareWorld.com

Diet Kaza is an add-on program for Kazaa that removes banners, pop-ups, ads and lots of spyware.

BitTorrent for Dummies by Natx

LegalTorrents -"Your source for legal BitTorrent files"

TorrentSearch - web search interface for bittorrent files

FileDonkey - web search interface for eDonkey network, also FileHash.com

Interesting sites: p2pnet.net, p2p-zone.com, whatsthedownload.com & zeropaid.com

Fagan Finder >Audio and Music Search Engines

Sneaky Sharing - feature article by Michael Desmond (PC World magazine, Oct. 2004)

Music industry swamps swap networks with phony files

File swapping networks history - academic treatment by Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

Another popular source for music is newsgroups aka Usenet or news clients (PC)

MP3 Guide-Finding, Playing and Recording - basic links for players, rippers, encoders

MP3machine Top 20 MP3 Software Downloads for PC and Mac - encoding, ripping, sharing links

mp3-faq.org - lots of tips and useful information about MP3s

mp3.box - the latest mp3 gossip

mp3 search engline list

How Not To Get Sued By The RIAA For File-Sharing - advice from eff.org

 

Online Music Stores

Napster - early peer-to-peer pioneer, now a fee-based service of licensed content

Apple iTunes Music Store - tracks for Macs and PCs

RealPlayer Music Store and Rhapsody - only works on PC, not on Macintosh

Sony Connect - only works with IE, not Netscape

FileDownloadNetwork.com - licensed service with subscribers

Streamwaves - offers monthly subscription

BuyMusic.com - downloadable music from buy.com, advertises 79 cents per single

MP3.com - a search service indexing many popular stores plus news, reviews, mp3 tutorials

 

  Music Shopping Agents

BarPoint - search books, music, movies, computers, electronics, office, gifts and toys by ISBN, UPC, SKU or keyword for reviews and descriptive information. Sometimes limited purchasing info is available.
DealTime Shopping Comparison Engine - once known as acses
AMusicArea.com - CD search engine (aka AddAny.com)
Bottom Dollar - a basic search for books, music, movies and more
CD-ROM Bargain Finder - new way to shop for CD-ROMs (via bottom dollar site)
GEMM Home Page - Global Electronic Music Marketplace, shops many vendors
Freeality - a single page that searches prices, AMG, UBL, and more
MySimon - an agent which uses an artist surname & title to check dozens of stores
RoboShopper - intelligent agent shopping by artist or title, also books etc.
Simply Music - lets you check four stores from their list at a time with frames
Search commercial net sites for a CD - enter a search item and then check several stores
MetaShopper - check prices at four different large music stores from here
CD Jackpot - e-mail - ordering at 5 different music stores from this page
Electric Blues - ordering at 7 different site including one from Germany & Australia
(The bargain stores to check first are Cheap-CDs and Songsearch for highest discount)
Compact Disc Shopper's Guide - a unique moneysaving list of CD sales in progress
SmartBots.Com - A Directory of Price Shopping Robots on the Internet

  Music Charts

Billboard · R&R Airplay · Gavin · Radio Airplay · AEC
Showbiz Music Charts - a potpourri of bestseller charts worldwide
Yahoo Music Charts - dozens of links to charts on the web

  Music Reviews

Addicted to Noise - master index to hundreds of past reviews at ATN
AMG (All-Music Guide) (192,000 titles) - database of recorded music reviews and more
Billboard Album Reviews - reviews of the very latest releases
ClassicalNet - basic repertoire list, CD buying guide, and recommended CDs
iMusic News Agent - Hundreds of current CD reviews culled from around the web
Music Ramblings - album and concert reviews and interviews
Popular Music Reviews - band recommendations to the misled with a rating scale
Search Reviews at MusicSearch - a searchable source of over 17,000 music reviews
Yahoo - dozens of links to sources of music reviews including a section by genre

New CDs · Used CDs · Agents · Charts · Reviews · Links · Lists

  Music Resource Links

cddb: Who sung what? - a large searchable database of artists and titles
Gracenote - track listings for albums
Beaucoup.com - list of music related search engines
Worldwide Internet Music Resources - links from William and Gayle Cook Music Library
New York Public Library - Music Division: selected music resources on the Internet
Music Resources on the Internet by Shirley E. Kaiser
American Music Resource -- covers "all styles of music indigenous to the Western Hemisphere"; includes information on specific genres and styles as well as over 70 entries on individual composers and performers
Internet Resources for Music Scholars -- includes music publishers, scholarly societies, MIDI information, and journals and newsletters (maintained by the Loeb Music Library, Harvard University)
Music Related Internet Sites - massive link list - shopping, trading, labels, publishers..
Ever Expanding Web Music Listing! - huge link list from Prof. Brad Garton, Columbia
MusicSearch "The Internet's Music-Only Search Site"
BizWeb - the huge link section is nearly 100K and has wide variety
UBL: Ultimate Band List - large music resource site
Classical.net - a huge set of links and resources for classical music lovers
DVD Insider - feature articles, background info, free newsletter
Record Labels on the Web - KZSU link list of over 1600 records label URLs
FuzzLogic rock related information and resources including the argus search tool
Music Newswire - a personalized news for music, industry news, label news
Iuma - Internet Underground Music Archive
Music in Print

Music Database - an index of more than 3500 artist listings from Stanford
ASCAP ACE - searchable database of titles, performers, writers and publishers
Mind on Music - interactive database of music information
International Lyrics Server - lyrics of over 61,000 popular songs can be searched by artist, album, or song
Song Index, California Library Systems - Index to over 145,000 song titles (mostly popular music), almost 1,500 items indexed (song books, magazines, . . .
UTK Song Index - songwizard database of 50,000 songs (Univ. Tenn.)
Song Index. Los Angeles Public Library - searches index for songs in books and anthologies owned by the Los Angeles Public Library.
Song Index. Arizona State University - index to songs in collections at Arizona State University.
AnalysisIndex - index to analyses or program notes for musical compositions in books owned by the University of Tennessee
Music Copyright Imprints - a hyperlinked list from the Music Publishers Association
Real-Time Voice and Video Communications on the Web - basic link list
Harmony Central - the internet resource for musicians
Musician's Friend - large direct mail music gear company
Yahoo - massive section of music categories and subcategories
Non English CD and Movie Databases
Audio/Multimedia Test Page - page to help test common sound files & video formats.
 

 

  Other Music Store Lists

Music Store Ratings - lists the states in which sales tax is charged for music sites
SimplyMusic - a nicely annotated list of selected major stores in five categories
Music store reviews - lengthy writeup in Q/A format for a few major on-line CD sites
Buyer's Index - Music - a nicely annotated list of about 175 sites
A Handy Guide - over 150 annotated listings of music companies & stores

Mallpark's Arts and Music Mall - Music Stores - about 150 lightly annotated online stores
Scott Fay's music page - over 100 briefly annotated online music stores

General Music Mail Order Listings at MusicSearch - several hundred sites, many annotated
General Music Merchant Listings at MusicSearch - several hundred sites, many annotated

Music Store Links - about 50 insightful notes on many of the larger sites (dance emphasis)
Thee Coolest List of Places to Buy CDs!!! - long list of stores in several useful categories
Retail Music Products, Stores, and Services - several hundred sites, many annotated
Nerd World : SHOPPING - MUSIC - a big list (124K) of music store sites
Yahoo! - Music:CDs, Records, and Tapes - a dizzying list of several hundred stores
Jim's World of Shopping - State by State - several hundred unannotated CD stores
UBL: Ultimate Band List - large unannotated list of several hundred on-line music stores
MusicStores.com - online database with 3000 walk-in musical instrument stores

 

Feedback

If you know of other general music stores or links of the caliber listed here with large on-line databases of CDs, drop us a line. e-mail to: info@shoppingagents.net

New CDs · Used CDs · Agents · Charts · Reviews · Links · Lists

Disclaimer: Caveat Lector. These ideas are for informational purposes only and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. We assume no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of any products or vendors. All understandings, agreements, or warranties, if any, take place directly between the vendors and the prospective buyers. We make no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this information.In fact, we guarantee that there will be errors on this page and other connected with it.

Copyright 2003, shoppingagents.net. All rights reserved.