Music subscription services

Like it or not, music subscription services--first introduced by Pressplay and MusicNet a few years ago--are here to stay. In general, these services give you lots of value if you're into discovering music, especially if you go with an affordable option such as Yahoo Music Unlimited. Apple's iTunes, the world's most popular online music store, does not have a subscription feature--yet.

Subscribers gain all-you-can-eat access to gigantic catalogs of music (Virgin Digital has more than 2 million tracks) to download and stream for a monthly fee of $15 or less. Subscription services include community features, excellent smart-radio streams, customization, and the ability to transfer tracks to subscription-ready portable devices. The downside of subscription is that you don't actually own the music, so you can't burn it and won't be able to listen to it when your subscription ends.

While all services have their own charms and kinks, we recommend Rhapsody and Urge. Napster is the granddaddy of services, while Yahoo Music offers the lowest prices. And then there's always eMusic, which offers non-DRM MP3s in its indie-heavy service. Perhaps the best thing about subscription is that there are choices.

For more information about music-subscription services, read our quick guide to subscription services.