This time literally, with their new MP3 Music Store. But what makes this different from every other online music offering is: the files are DRM-free, in standard MP3 format and not from obscure artists! You can buy tracks from people like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Crowded House, The Chemical Brothers, Sublime, Fall Out Boy & Snow Patrol! And they’re only $0.89 per song and even cheaper if you buy the whole album, around $9 US. I don’t even own an audio CD player anymore, so not having to pay for the CD media and case is brilliant.
However, that isn’t what I’m excited about, oh no, it’s the behind the scenes bits. I’ve just bought one track to check it out and they’re LAME 3.97 encoded VBR’s using [I believe] -V 0 quality, i.e. the software/settings recommended by the audiophiles at Hydrogenaudio!! The average VBR bitrate of their files according to the Amazon docs is 256kbps, so I’m pretty sure it’s -V 0. The files also have beautiful crisp album art at 600x600px, which looks like it comes from the original files, rather than a scan of the CD cover.
I’m never buying a CD again, thank you Amazon you’ve made my day!