There are hundreds of different ways of downloading almost anything from the internet.
The internet offers a lot of things and among them is free music. You can find plenty of websites that let you download music for free; however, not all of them are legal.
None of them seems to have the rights or licenses for the songs they’re offering for downloads.
So if you are looking for songs that can be availed safely and free of cost, We’ve have handpicked 21 best sites for free and legal music downloads in 2021 for you.
If you are the kind of person who really doesn’t want to break the rules or download any illegal songs for personal or professional purposes, then you can use these websites to download music.
At these websites, you’ll be able to download high-quality MP3s that play on your computer, phone, or tablet. Since you can save them, they’ll forever be yours to listen to on a great pair of earbuds.
All the downloads here are legal. They’re either public domain or, in most cases, the artists have given permission for you to download and enjoy their hard work.
That means you can feel great about listening to the music and discovering some hidden gems you might have otherwise passed up.
Table of Contents
1. Google Play Store

When it comes to offering a ton of cool music for free, the Google Play Store is the best.
Yeah, you heard it right! Google’s offering not only boasts the biggest library of mobile apps but also posses an ever-growing collection of free music that you can use in your fun-loving videos.
Just like Amazon’s website, the Google Play Store has been a source of free and legal music downloads.
However, Google Play Music permanently deleted on February 24, 2021, so if you have already saved songs here, you should start migrating your favorite tracks to YouTube music for free.
Meanwhile, to access free songs, just go to the Music section of the Play Store and type ‘free music’ in the search box.
This will list the music in different sections: Songs, Artists, and Albums. You can click the ‘See More’ button to get more free music options.
Pros:
- The library has got music from many genres
- The impressive collection of music
- High-quality
Cons:
- Lacks trendy collection
2. ReverbNation

This music website is behind the popularity of bands like Alabama Shakes, The Civil Wars, and Imagine Dragons.
It is ReverbNation where they started getting recognition by sharing their music for free and gathering a huge loyal fanbase.
ReverbNation is one of the best free music download sites in 2021 that offer a variety of genres, but their collection is well known for pop, alternative, and hip-hop.
Whether you are an aspiring musician or just want to download interesting songs created by millions of artists for free, ReverbNation is the right platform for you.
One of the biggest highlights of this website is a massive catalog of music created by artists from around the world.
So, you will always have plenty of cool music to explore and download the ones that seem pleasing to your taste.
At present this site caters to nearly 4 million artists, labels, and users from 100 countries, which speaks volumes of its popularity and provides a great user experience to music lovers through its impressive catalog.
For those who’d like to discover more can do so through the music website’s Discover section, which brings a good collection of audio songs to download.
As for the variety, ReverbNation has got you fully covered with several genres including folk, pop, comedy, funk, hip hop, folk, and more.
Pros:
- Over 4 million artists from 100 countries
- Massive catalog of music
- A wide variety of music genres to explore
Cons:
- Hip-hop collection is not great
3. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is free and offers the largest collection of songs to listen to online for free. It’s an online music streaming community where users can upload songs and even popular artists share their own songs as well.
In this online music streaming community, the content is uploaded by independent artists and famous musicians.
You can search for songs through bands or artists’ tags in the search bar.
SoundCloud was also recently featured on our list of India’s best music streaming services. It contains a relatively small but very enjoyable collection of remix Hindi songs that can be downloaded for free.
It is also viewed as the best Spotify alternative where you can get online music without paying.
You can stream as many songs as you want but in addition to streaming, SoundCloud also lets you download songs for free.
Just click on the download button to download your favorite song on your device and listen to it at will even offline.
One thing worth keeping in mind is that not all the songs can be downloaded.
If the uploader has allowed downloads for their songs only then you will see a download button right below the song. So, don’t be surprised if there is no download option below a song.
Pros:
- Personalized experience
- The largest collection of songs
- Option to download music
- A huge community of music lovers
Cons:
- The freemium version is quite limited
- Lacks an intuitive interface
- Not all music at SoundCloud is free
4. Last.fm

Last.fm is actually an internet radio service that brings you amazing tracks as if you were listening to a local radio station.
It has several pages of free music downloads that fall into all genres. You can browse these free downloads by category, new releases, coming soon, or by simply looking through the whole list.
The service also offers free MP3 song downloads for its users. The free mp3 song collection, however, is not as vast as you would expect from service this big but you can still find some hidden gems among these free tracks.
Notably, you don’t need an account on the website to download free mp3 songs, just click the download button and it should download without the need to register.
Just one selection will download your chosen song.
Besides downloads, you can also stream thousands of songs and get recommendations of bands you’ll love.
Pros:
- Pretty good categorization
- A reasonable collection of free mp3 songs
- Tracks are of high-quality
Cons:
- Rock and country tracks seem to below par
5. Audionautix

Audionautix is a free MP3 music download site created by Jason Shaw — a composer who shares his self-created music for free and lets you download it legally without getting into trouble with copyright infringement.
It has a user friendly interface where all the categories of music are labelled properly. Pick your genre of choice and just hit the download button to get MP3 songs for free.
The music library on this site can be browsed by genre, tempo, and other keywords. You can also choose to stream music on this site based on “moods” category.
The best part is that this free music website lets you download music without signing up or forcing you to like any Facebook page, which is pretty common on other legal music download sites in 2021.
After downloading free MP3 from Audionautix, all you need to do is give credit to the composer to use the free music in a video.
6. YouTube

YouTube is a huge source for music.
Many of us also use it as a music streaming service because it has almost all kinds of music in it and most of it is illegal to download due to copyright restrictions.
However, if you filter your search results for Creative Commons videos only and confirm with each video that it’s okay to save the audio, it’s completely safe to download the music.
You might also filter by duration to find short videos that are most likely music videos instead of interviews, movies, etc.
Besides, you can also head into the creator studio -> Audio Library to download a lot of cool music for free. These songs are free to use and there are no restrictions on downloading them.
Despite YouTube being the largest video streaming service on the internet, it’s not easy to find free music among all the other content.
Pros:
- The audio library offers a variety of music
- High-quality music
- A reliable source for free legal music
Cons:
- The free music collection isn’t huge
7. PureVolume

PureVolume is a community of music lovers.
Artists can signup and upload their music on the site and listeners can help the artists by downloading or listening to their songs and upvoting them.
Each artist has their own profile with their basic details, music, and photos.
It’s up to the artist to allow downloads or not, if the artist has allowed downloads then you can download their songs.
Most of the artists on PureVolume have downloads enabled so you can enjoy great music for free.
Some artists have only enabled online streaming for songs which means you can stream as many of their songs as you want for free but you can’t download them on your device for offline usage.
You can get free covers and remixes for the most popular songs as well.
Pros:
- Provides a variety of music
- A fairly good library of music
- Online streaming for songs
Cons:
- Not all songs are available for free downloads
8. Audiomack

Audiomack has got all the bases covered to be your one-stop platform for legal and free music download websites.
It’s an emerging music sharing platform that has a user-friendly interface which makes it the best SoundCloud alternative.
For starters, the website has got one of the largest collections of music from different genres. However, its library of hip-hop, rap, and the trap are top-notch both in terms of quality and quantity.
This free music download website is a hub for artists, labels, and music lovers to discover amazing music.
From popular tracks from famous artists like Kodak Black or the trending tracks from emerging artists, Audiomack has got you fully covered.
Not all the songs on Audiomack are free but Many artists allow users to download songs for free. Therefore, getting nice hip-hop or rap for free shouldn’t be a big deal. Notably, Audiomack also offers an option to stream mixtapes.
You can stream an unlimited number of songs through the website on desktop PC, or on phones through free iOS and Android app.
Pros:
- Allows you to stream music
- One of the biggest collections of hip-hop, rap, and the trap
- Offers music from both popular and emerging artists
Cons:
- Not all music is available for download
- Some music from the emerging artist may be below par
9. Bandcamp

Bandcamp makes it easy for artists to share their music in a “name your price” type of setting.
This means that while you can pay for the music, another option is to put a zero in the payment box and download the song for free.
The Discover page is a great way to find the best selling music at Bandcamp, plus new arrivals and songs recommended by artists.
Not all songs can be downloaded for free but for the ones that don’t have a minimum price: choose Buy Digital Track or buy now, enter 0 in the box, select download to your computer, and follow the on-screen prompts to get the download.
Most are available in several formats, including MP3, FLAC, AAC, OGG, and WAV.
Pros:
- You can choose to pay if you want to
- Includes lots of tracks you won’t find on other free music download sites
- No user account is needed
- Lets you download songs and full albums
Cons:
- There isn’t a “free only” page
- Not every song you see is free to download
10. NoiseTrade

NoiseTrade has an amazing collection of albums by several artists who want you to check out their creations.
Thousands of amazing songs performed by great artists from around the world are available for free on NoiseTrade.
It is a social network for music lovers and book enthusiasts. It lets artists upload their songs for free and fans can download the songs without having to pay a single dime, Music on this website is completely free and legal to take.
If you like a certain song then you also have the ability to tip the artist a few bucks for their great work.
The songs can be streamed partially, and to obtain full access or download an album, you will have to trade your email address and postal code.
Once you are done with it, the album will be downloaded as a ZIP file containing the MP3 tracks.
Finding new songs on NoiseTrade is also quite easy. Just check out the Trending section and Top Downloads.
NoiseTrade connects the artists with their fans to build a large audience for the upcoming talent.
Just create a free fan account and you can start downloading any song you want with just a single click.
Pros:
- Option to explore a variety of music genres including classic, country, and metal
- A great social network for music lovers
- Easy way to download songs
Cons:
- The music library lacks variety
11. CCTrax

Songs on CCTrax are available as Creative Common music so it’s free and safe to download music from this platform.
The website has a nice layout where you can search for music according to license, genre, label, and artist.
However, the website offers online songs in a handful of categories such as Electronica, Dub, Techno, Ambient, etc.
But you can listen to or download the tunes without creating an account and there is also an option of getting the entire album at once.
12. Jamendo Music

All the free music downloads at Jamendo Music are made available through Creative Commons licensing meaning that the artists themselves have decided they want to give out their music for free for the masses to enjoy.
You can discover new music at Jamendo by viewing the most popular music and the songs that trending. There’s also a Latest music filter to see recently added songs. You can also search for artists that you know to see if their music is available for download.
Another way to find great music here is by listening to one of the Jamendo radio channels. When you find a song or artist you like, you can then download that single track or the entire album.
Yet another way to browse this free music is via playlists, like “Best of January,” “Electro Funk Frenzy,” “Valentine’s Day,” and “Girls On the Rise.”
If you’d rather stream the music at Jamendo instead of download it, they give you that option, too.
Jamendo Music has free apps available for Android, iOS, and Windows if you’d rather not use your web browser.
Pros:
- Includes an online radio function
- Lots of ways to browse for downloads
- There’s a mobile app
- Lets you stream music
Cons:
- Downloads aren’t HD quality
- Requires a user account (it’s free)
- MP3 format only; no option for others
13. Spinrilla

Spinrilla has free hip-hop mixtape downloads. You can browse for these music downloads by the mixtape name, single, or chart, such as the most popular mixtapes today, this month, or all time.
The website navigation is clean and easy to understand, and you can get individual songs or whole albums at once.
This website also lets you see which mixtapes will be released in the future. The Upcoming Mixtapes page shows when each mixtape will be available.
These music downloads are accessible from the website but you can also listen on your Android or iOS device via the Spinrilla mobile app.
Pros:
- No website ads.
- Download in bulk or individually.
- Stream and download.
Cons:
- Some tracks can only be streamed.
- User account required.
14. Vimeo

We know Vimeo is a video streaming website but that doesn’t mean you can’t download amazing mp3 songs from the service.
Vimeo has a music store where users sell mp3 songs for a price, however, you can search for songs with “Creative Commons” tag in the advanced search to find free songs and music.
All these free songs can be downloaded with a single click to your device but you will have to sign-up on the site first before downloading the free songs.
Pros:
- The website runs smoothly
- Straightforward downloading option
- A great site to explore videos and music
Cons:
- Doesn’t have a large collection of music
15. Free Amazon Music Store

There are thousands and thousands of free music downloads at Amazon.com, making it one of my favorite websites to visit when I’m looking for new music to download legally.
You can see the music by choosing a genre or sorting by popularity, release date, length of the song, reviews, or in alphabetical order by title, artist, or album.
You can play the songs before downloading them, but when you’re ready to save the songs to your computer, add the item to your cart.
Then, you can check out as if you were purchasing something. You’ll be taken to a link to download the free music, and it’ll also be saved in the Digital Orders tab of your order history.
Pros:
- Provides several ways to filter and refine the results
- You can sort the list of downloads
- They can be previewed
Cons:
- You have to log in to your Amazon account
- The download process can be confusing
- Not all music on the site is free
16. Musopen

Musopen has sheet music and recordings that are completely free, legal, and copyright-free. You can listen online or download the music for whatever purpose.
There’s even an online radio you can listen to from a computer or through their mobile app.
There are lots of ways to find free music downloads at Musopen: browse by composer, performer, instrument, form, or time period.
Of course, you can also do a manual search to see if they have something specific.
Another way to find music downloads here is to use the music discovery tool. It lets you filter by mood like sad or relaxing, as well as by instrument, rating, length, and license type (to find only public domain music, creative commons music, etc.).
You can preview music without logging in but to actually download anything you find on Musopen, you have to create a user account.
A free account gives you access to five music downloads every day and standard, lossy audio quality.
Pros:
- Lots of unique ways to find free music
- Completely free music downloads you can use for anything
- Includes an online radio option
- Includes sheet music downloads
- Supports previewing the music
Cons:
- Per-day download limits
- Music downloads require you to log in to a user account
- No free HD audio
17. SoundClick

Although not as large as other music libraries, SoundClick still delivers a decent number of free songs to quench your thirst for music. Free music mostly depends on the artists.
There are thousands of established artists who are selling their songs on SoundClick, however, most of them are also giving away their songs for free.
You can even buy the rights to the songs if you want but the free song should serve you well should you choose to only download free songs from the service. Most of the amazing songs are available as a free download.
Pros:
- The hassle-free way to download songs
- A solid collection of free songs
- Neat categorization
Cons:
- Doesn’t have an impressive hip-hop collection
18. Beatstars

Beatstars is another one of the free MP3 music download sites that I have discovered recently. First of all, I would like to talk about its clean beautiful UI that comes with a dark mode.
The most handy feature of this site is that all free and legal music downloads can be viewed in one place by using this link.
However, please note that you will have to submit your email address on the site to download the music for free. Once you do that, a download link will be sent to your inbox.
Sometimes, you might be asked to like an artist’s profile or subscribe to their YouTube channel. But that’s pretty common for sites that let you download songs for free.
On Beatstars you can filter songs by genre, moods, top-selling, trending, and latest. If you are into a particular song type then you can use filters for that as well, such as beats, beats with chorus, vocals, song reference, etc.
19. Internet Archive

Internet Archive is the biggest archive that includes almost everything for free.
From software to music, you get to download anything and everything for free on your device.
The audio section on Archive doesn’t only bring you free music instead it offers a lot of other audio files as well which include, audiobooks, podcasts, live music, etc.
You can download amazing music and songs but you will have to search for it.
The categorization is not as smooth as one would expect but you can still find some great songs if you really look for it hard enough. Create amazing mixtapes by downloading free live music or best tunes from radio channels.
In a nutshell, Internet Archive is a reliable site for free music downloads legally.
Pros:
- Huge collection of audio files
- The music library has got both numbers and quality
- Provides live music
Cons:
- Categorization needs improvement
- Mixtapes could be better
20. Datpiff

If you are fond of rap, DatPiff is what you should pick to download a ton of great legal music for free.
It boasts an ever-growing hip-hop community dedicated to creating top-notch music. Notably, most of the music found on this website comes in the form of mixtapes which can prove to be amazing for adding some x-factor to your creativity.
While some are the original creations by artists, some showcases rappers freestyling over fascinating instruments.
Not to mention, some songs are specifically designed to win fans. So, you will always have both a large collection of free music to download on your device.
Pros:
- Backed by a great hip-hop community
- A great platform for rap lovers
- Excellent mixtapes
Cons:
- Website looks outdated
21. Free Music Archive

You can also get free music at Free Music Archive (FMA). What makes it different from these other sites is that you can search for instrumental music only and filter your searches by genre and duration.
The charts let you find the best music of all time on the site, and the top music for the week and the month.
There are also 16 genres to pick from, like blues, jazz, pop, international, and novelty.
Pros:
- Lets you stream before downloading
- Advanced search box
- No user account necessary
- Over a dozen categories
Cons:
- MP3 is the only download option
Premium music streaming services like Apple Music, Prime Music, Spotify, etc., also provide free trials for listening and downloading songs, you can try them out as well.
Conclusion
That’s pretty much it! So, there are the best sites for downloading legal songs for free.
With a ton of interesting songs to explore and choose from, I hope your creativity will finally have the right music.
If you have any other favorite sites for downloading legal free music then don’t forget to share them with us in the comment below. Also, if you liked this article, then check out our article on websites that offer royalty-free images.
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keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing this well-written post! This is really helpful for me especially now that I am looking for tools that work like my current downloader called AceThinker MP3Juice Downloader so that I can have many tools to use. I can’t wait to try the Musopen and FMA! It looks amazing and is easy to use too.
Thank you so much.