We all love going to record shops to browse endlessly, but sometimes you just need the pure convenience of online shopping. We’ve trawled all through the internet to find the best online music stores where you can buy your tunes at the click of a button. Here’s our top five:
Bandcamp
Since its inception in 2008, Bandcamp has become a one-stop shop for lovers of independent music. Here you can pick up pretty much anything you might want (vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, lossless downloads and merch are all on offer) and the best part is it all comes directly from the artist or label. Bandcamp’s unique model allows artists to post their music for free in exchange for a 15% cut of sales. According to their website, artists have now earned over $330 million on the platform. If you’re heading over for a browse allow lots of time, it can be a bit of a wormhole, and be sure to check out their awesome podcast Bandcamp Weekly.
HMV
Remember how gutted we all were when HMV went bust a few years ago? Well, fortunately, it was saved and came back with a brand new online store stocking CDs, Vinyl and everything you can find the shops. Show it some love again and take advantage of their great CD and vinyl deals.
Discogs
Discogs is a secondhand marketplace that’s perfect for the real collectors among us. With over 400,000 users, it’s just like eBay but purely for music, making it the best place to look if there’s something specific you want for your collection. You won’t just find CDs and vinyl here, you can even get your hands on minidiscs, shellac records, cartridges, mini cassettes and even floppy discs. Discogs also functions as a massive database of music releases, with never-ending information about albums and singles complete with details of different pressings. Very handy for serious music nerds.
Bleep
Launched by Warp Records in 2004, Bleep is a great place to buy music from your favourite independent artists and labels. It’s a complete haven for lovers of electronic music, but you’ll also find hip-hop, alternative, metal, jazz, world music and soundtracks from over 300 different indie labels. Audiophiles will love Bleep’s lossless download formats, but it’s not just a download store – they ship vinyl, CDs, cassettes and merchandise worldwide, and offer free UK postage on all orders over £50. It’s also worth bearing in mind when you buy music from Bleep, half of the profit goes directly to the artist. Win-win if you ask us.
Beatport
Ideal for DJs, Beatport stocks over 600,000 of the best dance tracks around from pretty much every genre of electronic music. You won’t find any physical music here, just high-quality digital downloads and multitrack stem files, perfect for remixing. It’s not just a great shop, it’s also a great community – you’ll also be able to watch music production tutorials and hear weekly Top 10 charts curated by some of the finest DJs from around the globe. If you’re not convinced already, how does 10 free downloads for new users sound?
