Apr. 20--Which online music store is best? When it comes to loading my iPod with new tunes, I've always gravitated toward Amazon's MP3 store (www.amazon.com/mp3) for downloads. The quality is reasonably high (256 kilobits per second), the selection is dandy and the interface is simple. Not only that, but no other store consistently offers the deals that Amazon does. (William Shatner's entire "Transformed Man" album for 99 cents? I am so there.)

Best of all, Amazon's songs do not use Digital Rights Management (DRM), so they can be freely copied among your various devices and computers. And with Amazon's album downloader (a free, required plug-in), the songs can be dumped directly into whatever song-management program, you use, such as iTunes.

Speaking of iTunes, Apple's music store (www.apple.com/itunes) is still far and away the most popular service. Following Amazon's lead, iTunes is finally moving toward making all of its songs DRM-free. It also is boosting quality by upping the bit rate.

Lately, the folks behind Zune (Microsoft) have been pushing the Zune Pass subscription service (www.zune.net). For $15 a month, users get unlimited access to the site's 5 million songs. The catch: You need a Zune player, and the songs are DRM-protected, so they go away if you get rid of the service. But the subscription includes 10 DRM-free MP3s per month that can be kept permanently and used on other devices.

There are also services from Rhapsody, eMusic and Napster. If you're confused by what they offer, check out PC World's outstanding overview on the pluses and minuses of each one (www.startribune. com/a/?4619).

Don't forget, too, that if you're into classical music, there are several online stores that sell 320kbps MP3s (the highest quality), including the Classical Shop (www.theclassicalshop.net), Naxos' Classics Online (www.classicsonline.com) and the Classical Archives (www.classicalarchives.com). The Classical Shop, run by the esteemed British label Chandos, even has uncompressed CD-quality tracks for a small upcharge and full, high-res liner notes.

When it comes to downloads, I'll stick with Amazon for mainstream MP3s and the classical sites for orchestral stuff. Don't forget that there are many cases where it's cheaper to buy a used CD -- try local used-CD stores or, online, Half.com and Amazon's Marketplace (www.amazon.com/music) for all genres or Berkshire Record Outlet (www.broinc.com) for classical -- and rip it yourself. The original artist won't get a royalty, as with any nonfirst-sale purchase (including books), but it's perfectly legal.

Randy A. Salas --612-673-4542

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