BestShopSites
Bottom Line Rating*

Best Sites

Description

Accolades

Amazon
www.amazon.com

Forbes Review: "Bookseller Amazon became the Web’s biggest music merchant the moment it entered the category; its site has partially earned the distinction. Genre pages and editor’s picks offer pretty good original comment and a sprinkling of the music press. Reviews by other customers are largely a waste, though. An extensive listing of essential recordings by hundreds of artists across all genres will spark countless arguments: any ranking that puts the Beatles’ "White Album" above Revolver needs a serious rethink. There are even errors of fact (contrary to Amazon, Louis Prima’s wildest Capitol sides are available on disc). Lots of other editorial goodies, plus plenty of free downloads from the likes of Lou Reed, Pat Metheny and Yo La Tengo.

BEST: Well-organized genre pages, and the essential album picks are fun to debate.

WORST: A hip-to-be-square superstore mentality that with a straight face anoints AC/DC’s latest as 'our fave.'"

Macworld Review: "Amazon has the best customer service of any large-scale (yes, it is large-scale now!) store, real or virtual, hands down. It's even been known to mail a prepaid-return box to customers who changed their mind after a CD shipped. Plus, a quick, but by no means comprehensive, check confirmed that Amazon is usually less expensive than its main rivals in the music world (CDNow and Barnes & Noble) and adds valuable extra info about how long each item will take to ship. Amazon offers one gift-wrapping option for CDs and can include a personal message on the packing slip."

Best Music Site : Macworld (January 2000)

"Substantial content and smart organization make bookseller bn.com a surprising best-of-class for anyone who wants to learn about the music they’re buying. While the front page pushes major new releases, a few clicks unearth interesting features like David Byrne’s walking us through the catalog of his world music label, Luaka Bop. Outstanding genre pages (broken down into detailed subcategories) offer meaty editors’ picks, box-sets and reissues. Helpful reviews, usually one staff-written and one from All Music Guide, tell it like it is. Related books are offered for some artists.

BEST: Stellar genre pages make this a browsing pleasure.

WORST: Not many editorial flourishes beyond strong basic content.

CDNow
www.cdnow.com

Forbes Review: "Once you find your favorite artist on CDnow the fun has just begun. Many fun options await like discographies with full track listings and often song samples. By clicking through the "Related Artists" feature on CDnow, we found that there are "six degrees of seperation" between Britney Spears and Johnny Cash. CDs, cassete tapes minidiscs and even vinyl LPs (sorry, no 8-tracks) are available at this bubble gum factory for music lovers. You can search by artist, album title or song title and even make advance orders. Browsing an entire genre is a little difficult but despite the site's emphasis on pop music, classical and jazz CDs are extremely well organized and cross-referenced. Track listings are included for most in print recordings and often feature song samples. The "album advisor" feature merely reports what others are buying and probably shouldn't be taken too seriously.

BEST: Lots of Real Audio & MPEG song samples along with trustworthy reviews take much of the guesswork out of buying new music.

WORST: Obscure titles are often on backorder."

Macworld Review: "Runner-up CDNow does have one cool feature that Amazon lacks: you can make your own compilation CD of your favorite songs–kind of like those "mix tapes" you made in high school. It's definitely worth checking out.

Runner-up Best Music Site : Macworld (January 2000)

"A" & "Best of Breed" : Entertainment Weekly Fall 1999

TechTV's Best Music Shopping Sites Pick

Tunes.com
www.tunes.com

"B+" & "Best of Breed" : Entertainment Weekly Fall 1999

BEST: Exhaustive, insightful info on everyone from Bach to the Beastie Boys.

WORST: Genre breakdowns can be dizzying. What’s the difference between postbop, neo bop and modern bop?"

BEST: A treasure trove of hard-to-find and out-of-print items passes under the virtual gavel.

WORST: This site can be habit forming."

BEST: Twelve full Elvis Costello albums.

WORST: Searching by artist is cumbersome and the sub-genre pages could be better fleshed out."

BEST: Specialization – Insound knows this corner of the music biz inside and out and provides the fan with a lot of insider info and quality recommendations.

WORST: The flip side of specialization – Insound doesn’t offer the kinds of discounts and editorial content on more mainstream music that other sites have."

BEST: There isn't a more fun music site on the web.

WORST: Not too many bargains."

Musicmaker
www.musicmaker.com

Forbes Review: "You can download popular music almost anywhere on the web today. What separates musicmaker.com from other custom-CD maker/MP3 sites are its jazz and classical music sections. Search the classical section by your favorite composer, and then download your favorite pieces played by your favorite performers. What record label can offer that kind of freedom?

BEST: A wide variety of Jazz and Classical selections is the site's hidden strength.

WORST: Most of the rock/alternative & hip hop tracks are available pretty much anywhere. Dull selection."

"B" : Entertainment Weekly Fall 1999

Forbes Selection  in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

BEST: Despite the incredible collection of music-related links, the site is very user friendly. A great tool for musicians.

WORST: The page is junked up with blinking ads and response is a little slow."

Atomic Pop
www.atomicpop.com

"B" : Entertainment Weekly Fall 1999

MusicFile
www.musicfile.com

"B" : Entertainment Weekly Fall 1999

BestShopSites
Bottom Line Rating*

Other Sites

Link to Reviews

Used CDs for less, but biased to contemporary top 40 types

"equals the experience of walking through a well-stocked music store" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"soup-to-nuts entertainment menu encompasses videogames, comic books and sheet music. Not as many audio samples as other sites and descriptions of catalog items are a bit skimpy" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"perhaps one of the Web’s best informational resources for classical music lovers... boasts more than 1,000 CD reviews, 2,600 links and reams of information" (Forbes--click here for full review)

same as "circular that clutters your newspapers and magazines" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"tons of creative recommendations, compilations and top 10 lists...'Essential Blues Pioneers' collection is especially impressive" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"clearinghouse site for used music... with some 7 million titles offered" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"House of Blues ... has dedicated itself to being the 'home of live music on the Internet' {with} tons of cybercasts, interviews, videos and pay-per-view concerts by a wide range of current and older artists" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"synonymous with campy 'as seen on TV' compilations that feature 'the original songs, by the original artists.'" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"the Internet’s CD/DVD cutout bin ... decent prices and cheap shipping" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"for adults who like their music bit left of center" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"Friendly and easy to use, with many new releases under $10 .... Range of capsule comments from the music press along with staff reviews" (Forbes--click here for full review)

site for free "'ePlayer software' which is digital entertainment solution that will store your entire music collection online . . . But site is still in larval stage" (Forbes--click here for full review)

"as unpredictable as the used bin in your local video or record store, but it is also much more organized ... Prices in the $7 range" (Forbes--click here for full review)