Best Free Music Download Sites – 17 Picks To Download Songs For Free!

While music streaming services have become today’s status quo, there’s still plenty of demand for old-fashioned downloads. Unsurprisingly, people still want access to the best free music download sites – and offline listening! Not everyone has enough Internet data for streaming, and ads can definitely turn people away. Because of that, we’ve prepared a list of the best free music download websites. If you’re looking for your next source of free music, read on and enjoy! Whether it’s new music genres, aspiring independent artists, or Hindi songs, you’re in the right place.

Let’s start with a bang!

1. Bandcamp

Bandcamp hosts an immensely diverse catalog of genres to discover – and artists to fall in love with.

Downloading music for free can sometimes be difficult for newcomers. There is not a separate “free download” button or anything. And when you click on a song or album, you’re usually met with a window asking how much you want to pay. That’s a turn-off for many new users.

But you can absolutely download free music:

When met with the payment box, just type in “0” dollars – and you’ll be good to go. While not all music on the website is free, there’s still an endless amount to choose from here.

To find free music, enter “free music” in the search box or find songs and albums that say “Name Your Price.”

Lesser-known artists want to spread their music as much as possible – so they will often put up their stuff for free. And there’s never a shortage of new gems to run into.

That being said – we are strong supporters of artists, so please – if you like the music, please consider contributing to the artist!

Lastly, Bandcamp offers several audio formats for download, including lossless formats:

• AAC
• FLAC
• OGG
• MP3
• WAV

2) Soundcloud

Our second free music download site is Soundcloud.

Soundcloud often gets a bad rap these days. Aspiring cloud rappers would often make posts everywhere, asking people to “check out their Soundcloud.” But the website is still a creative haven for many artists – and there’s no shortage of free downloadable songs.

Music downloads aren’t as popular as they used to be in the early days of the website, and it’s mainly used for streaming music. But thousands of artists still make their music available for free downloads.

Like Bandcamp, SoundCloud hosts a dozen lossless audio formats, not just WAVs or MP3s. Here are the formats you can choose from as a music lover:

• AAC
• AIF
• ALAC
• AMR
• FLAC
• MP2
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Downloading songs requires a SoundCloud login account and only works on desktop versions of the site.

When you find a song, click on the three dots on the side. You’ll see the “Download file” option listed if it’s available for download. Afterward, you can choose the format in which you’d like to save the file.

3) YouTube Music

As convenient as YouTube itself, YouTube Music hosts millions of songs. It’s mainly used as a streaming service, but it does allow music downloads. However, just like YouTube, users often have to deal with annoying ads.

To find songs that you can download for free, you’ll have to search for them under the Creative Commons license and set a filter. Another major downside is that you can’t listen to any music downloads outside the actual YouTube Music app.

4) Jamendo Music

Jamendo Music offers two categories of tracks – for personal use and licensing. As such, it is a valuable platform for artists to gain a following and collect royalties.

The free music downloads on Jamendo are available under the Creative Commons Licensing – but artists can earn money through Jamendo’s Licensing deals, too.

There are a few ways to find new music on this website:

You could look through thousands of playlists that Jamendo has available, including “Singer-Songwriter,” “Indie,” “Fresh & New,” “Beatmaker’s Arena,” etc. If that’s not your thing, you might be interested in Jamendo’s radio stations. These stations allow users to download songs as they play.

Additionally, you can see newly added music by using the “Latest” filter.

To download music from Jamendo completely free, you will need an account. Once you have it, you’re free to download any song, an entire album, or a playlist from the website.

5) Amazon Music

As you might expect, Amazon doesn’t hand out free songs; there’s always a caveat.

Nothing on the website is 100% free. You always have to purchase something else to access free songs on Amazon.

Whether it’s an Amazon Prime subscription or purchasing a video, you’ll only get “free” audio downloads once you give a little cash. This website is still a popular option, as Prime users get access to millions of songs to download for free.

But what if you just look up “free music” on Amazon? Some results will say “$0.00,” but the fine print will tell you what you need to make a purchase to have a song available for free.

Once you meet the conditions for free downloads, add your songs to the cart, as with any other item. Afterward, go to the checkout as if you’re purchasing something. The website will provide you with a link to your free download.

6) BeatStars

BeatStars is a really neat find for all music lovers. Apart from sounding like a video game title, the website has a fantastic design.

New users can easily find new music by adding genre or mood filters. Even more so, you get to browse thousands of downloadable songs.

It’s just good design, through and through.

To download music for free, you need to follow an artist’s BeatStars profile or their social media account. Yes, that’s an additional few clicks you have to make to get to your songs. Then again, the artists aren’t asking for much when you think about it:

Showing your favorite artists some support by following them for free is just a small “Thank you” – and takes only a few seconds.

The website search options are nicely done, too. You can filter songs by mood, bpm, energy levels, top-selling – and even key!

To get free music tracks quickly, head to the website’s menu in the upper left corner. Click on “Tracks,” then select “Free Beats.” Don’t be scared by the price tags! Find a song you like, click on the three dots next to the blue “Buy” button – and you’ll see the “Free Download” option.

7) Last.fm

Last.fm is another household name in the audiophile community.

Scrobbling remains a strongly-formed habit even years after the site’s peak in popularity. That’s what Last.fm is used for these days – after shutting down their subscription streaming service a while ago.

Regardless, this is still one of the best free music download sites. It offers a plethora of songs, artists, and playlists to get lost in. Whether you’re looking for a particular mood or genre, it’s all covered.

The website is user-friendly and convenient. You won’t have a problem learning the ropes of scrobbling and seeing what your friends are listening to at the moment.

It even becomes addictive for a lot of people! Updating your recent favorite artists and songs, following your friends, enjoying new recommendations – everything.

The problem is – there aren’t too many free songs to download. But you can scroll to the bottom of the site and click on the “Free Music Downloads” link to get started.

8) ReverbNation

ReverbNation is widely known in the Indie scene. Well, at least, that’s what it’s been primarily associated with in the past. It’s not as underground as it used to be, but the charm is still there. The site’s “Discover” and “Crowd Picks” tabs are the most notable features and make it easy for fans to find booming artists.

Not all the songs uploaded to ReverbNation are free, though. Like many other sites, artists can put their tunes up for purchase or make them available for streaming only. Still, there are lots of free songs to find and enjoy.

If a song is available for download, you’ll see the MP3 download option after clicking on the “+” sign next to a song.

ReverbNation hosts many playlists for fans to sift through. But you can also visit an artist’s page directly and download music from there. You don’t need a Last.fm account to download music.

9) Audiomack

You can instantly tell that Audiomack’s developers put a lot of love into creating the platform – it has a lot to offer to its target audience. You can instantly start browsing top songs in several genres.

Or perhaps you’d like to have a look at their blog, instead? It’s a carefully curated selection of podcasts, interviews, and featured artists.

Though, do note that Audimack is directed towards certain subcultures. You won’t find just any genre there. The site hosts lots of reggae, hip hop, gospel, R&B, and Punjabi songs. And if you head to the “Trending” page, that’s what you’re going to see – along with hip-hop and rap music.

But if you’re in the market for aggressive industrial or metal music, this website isn’t for you. There’s a minimal selection of rock and metal; non-mainstream songs will generally have only hundreds of listens.

As you’d expect, not everything is available to download for free. Audiomack is mainly used for streaming music.

10) Spinrilla

Looking to expand your mixtape collection? Spinrilla is precisely what you’re looking for. This website is dedicated to enjoying, sharing, and downloading hip-hop mixtapes.

Spinrilla greets you with a simple design that quickly lets you find what you want.

Find free music downloads by looking at today’s popular or trending charts. Spinrilla offers hip-hop fans a massive library of tracks. It’s also helpful in tracking your favorite artists and seeing what mixtapes will be released in the future.

You can download individual songs or entire mixtapes.

If you see something you like in a mixtape, click on the song’s menu, and select “Go To Song.” And voila – the “Download” button will be waiting for you.

For convenience, you can also download a whole mixtape easily. But for that, you’ll need to sign up with a free account.

11) Musopen

Musopen is a lovely, vast library of public domain content. Founded in 2012 as a non-profit, it aims to make classical music more accessible and enjoyable.

The website has music; lots of it. You can browse either by composer, mood, instrument, era, etc. But Musopen offers so much more:

There are hundreds of works from nearly any classical artist you can think of.

While you’re there, you might want to look at their “Education” and “Sheet Music” sections if you’re a classical artist.

To start downloading, you’ll need a Musopen account. The website offers free and subscription accounts.

Free accounts can download up to five tracks per day and are limited to standard audio quality. With the Musopen subscription, users get unlimited high-definition downloads – and access to an HD radio service.

12) Free Music Archive

The famous Free Music Archive results from united efforts made by several community radio stations. Like a few other websites on this list, everything the FMA offers is under the Creative Commons licenses.

FMA is an excellent database for all kinds of genres – from country, folk, and jazz to electronic and rock music. There’s even a variety of spoken tracks!

That’s right; voice-over artists post their works on the FMA to use in your projects.

The website also features dozens of curated lists and has separate sections for music lovers and filmmakers.

One downside we can mention is that FMA only offers MP3 downloads. In other words, you can only find compressed quality tracks, no lossless options.

13) DatPiff

Rap fans rejoice!

DatPiff is one of the most extensive rap music databases out there. Similar to Spinrilla, DatPiff hosts free music and mixtapes made by artists worldwide.

You can find all the big names – Big Sean, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Eminem, Wiz Khalifa, etc. But the site also features many up-and-coming artists.

DatPiff will throw you right back to 2005 with its design, and that’s not meant as a bad thing! Quite the contrary, it adds to the aesthetic – and millions of monthly visitors wholeheartedly agree.

Downloading songs is straightforward:

The big red “Download” button is there every time you click on a song or a mixtape – provided that an artist hasn’t set a price, that is.

Rap fans will find something they love on DatPiff; that’s a guarantee.

14) NoiseTrade (Paste Magazine)

NoiseTrade has an eerily good name. It lets you download free music – and discover new artists.

There are millions of songs on NoiseTrade, and no shortage of variety, either. The website has a simple interface to sort music by genre or popularity. However, to download free music, you’ll need to provide personal information.

“Trade your email for music” is why NoiseTrade‘s monicker really fits.

Giving your email address to download free music isn’t anything new – Bandcamp also asks for an email to send you a download link. However, NoiseTrade falls short due to asking for email addresses even if people only want to stream music.

Many streaming alternatives don’t require any information at all.

15) Internet Archive (Audio Archive)

For many music lovers, the Internet Archive would be a bit of a stretch. The not-so-friendly layout and often disappointing audio sway many users away to other sites.

The Archive has been around for a long time – so we can forgive the cluttered design. And with that said, let’s look at some of its benefits.

To start off, you don’t need an account to download songs. Without any registration, you can download millions of music, podcasts, radio programs, etc. And if you are a fan of audiobooks – good news! The site hosts the LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection.

Oh, and regardless of the Archive’s age, you can still find contemporary pop songs available for free downloads.

16) SoundClick

SoundClick is an excellent platform for artists to upload their music. It’s one of the best online portals that let you download music directly from the artists’ websites.

On the one hand, it’s very convenient because you can access artists more directly. Even more so, you don’t need an account to start streaming songs.

But there are downsides:

As convenient as it is, not everything is free. You’ll often find free songs mixed with paid ones, and isolating free tunes can be tricky. Furthermore, some pieces are available for streaming only.

Although not everything is free, there is still a lot of free music to go through here. Plus, there is an interesting feature you can use to download any song you want:

SoundClick’s radio gives users the option to sample music files – and some users have used this option to sample and download free and paid content.

17) AudionautiX

Let’s end our list with something a bit out-of-pocket.

Audionautix is a website that hosts music made by a single artist – Jason Shaw.

Jason is exceptionally generous, as he puts everything he does up for free.

As soon as you enter the site, you’re met with a mood filter. There are around 40 moods to pick, along with genres and tempos. The neat thing is: everything on this website is entirely free. Not just for downloads, either; Jason Shaw’s music is royalty-free.

Yup, you can use everything for commercial purposes. All you need to do is credit the artist – and that’s it.

If you’re looking for music for your Instagram videos or guided meditation, you’re sure to find something here.

And, of course, you don’t need an account to access the website; there are no requirements at all.

The Wrap-Up

We’ve covered a lot of ground with this extensive list of best free music download sites. You can see that, despite the popularity of streaming services, there are still websites that do offer completely free music downloads.

However, if you’re a filmmaker in search of the perfect music for your video, you’ll seldom find what you need on these free music websites. Instead, we would recommend that you check our platform – Audio Buzz for such purposes.