So now that I've purchased an MP3 player...

[khorrell]

what's the best (and legal) way to fill it up with music?

[spencer]

You can buy MP3s online, for example.

[gt0163c]

The exact mechanics of how you get music onto your mp3 player is going to depend upon the type of player and what software you're using. If you can give us more details, we can give you more help.

But, to answer your question without getting into the actual hows:
If you already own CDs, you can "rip" those to mp3 files and transfer those to your MP3 player.

As stated, you can purchase MP3 file on the web. iTunes, Amazon, Walmart and many other sites sell MP3 files.

You can go to various web sites for bands, groups, individuals and such. Many offer free mp3 files for download.

You can go to sites like Garage Band and CDBaby. Many independent and lesser known artists put their music on these sites. Some offer free downloads.

Some sites offer free downloads as part of promotions. Most boards with freebie forums (slickdeals, mycoupons, etc) will have links to some of these. The search function is your friend here.

You can download podcasts. These are like radio shows, but on the internet. Some are content that was originally available on the radio (like stuff from NPR), some are content originally produced for the internet some are from other sources (church sermons, academic lectures, etc). iTunes and podcastpickle have huge lists of podcasts. Most of these are free. Some of them are music podcasts but there are podcasts on just about any subject you could imagine. Podiobooks are podcasted audio books/audio dramas. Podiobooks.com has a large list but there are also many listed on iTunes and other places.

[amyschiff]

Congrats on your new tech toy! I would suggest purchasing mp3 downloads from Amazon.com. Their downloads do not have Digital Rights Management which means you don't have to worry about restrictions on the amount of times you can copy the file or transfer it to another device.

If you google "Amazon MP3" using the "I'm feeling Lucky" button, it should jump you right to it.

Also, if you have any CD's, you could use iTunes to rip them to your computer and then transfer them to your MP3 player.

[khorrell]

Thanks for the replies. I'm actually currently trying out the iPod and the Zune...one has to go back by next week. In principle, I prefer to stay away from Apple but they have such a huge and affordable selection of accessories available.

Right now I'm having a small problem with the iTunes software. It can't locate my Quicktime and asks me to reinstall it, but then it informs me that it already exists. Whether I replace it or not, iTunes still can't see it. Ugh...perhaps I picked the wrong week for this experiment.

I particularly appreciate the suggestion to check the freebie forums. I never would have thought to look there.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by khorrell

Thanks for the replies. I'm actually currently trying out the iPod and the Zune...one has to go back by next week. In principle, I prefer to stay away from Apple but they have such a huge and affordable selection of accessories available.

I haven't had a chance to play with a Zune, but I will say that I really, really like my iPod (30gb iPhoto, color display but won't play videos).
As for accessories, depending on what you want to do, many accessories will work with just about every MP3 player. The two things that I can think that won't (or that you can't easily get around) are cases that are sized specifically for the iPod and things that doc to the iPod (car adapters, speakers/radios, etc). And there are alternatives to both of those.

Originally Posted by khorrell

Right now I'm having a small problem with the iTunes software. It can't locate my Quicktime and asks me to reinstall it, but then it informs me that it already exists. Whether I replace it or not, iTunes still can't see it.

Hmmm....sounds like you're on a windows machine.
Have you tried uninstalling Quicktime and then reinstalling it. You might have to uninstall both iTunes and Quicktime and then reinstall them together.

Best of luck and have fun. May your ears never be bored again.

[VoyT]

Hi .. a newbie here...
Another good freebie site is www.download.com/music. Also Amazon and WalMart both offer some free downloads.