Amazon $5 MP3 Deals For March 2011

Posted on March 7, 2011

Longtime Readers know that when it comes to digital music I’m a fan of Amazon’s MP3 Store, because the music you buy there is:

• DRM-free: Once you buy the music, you own it; it’s not tied to any particular device or user account
• MP3 format: Which means you can play it on just about any PC, operating system, or digital device, not just those made by one particular company
• Reasonably priced: This point speaks for itself, I think

Now, the normal prices are good, but for some records they’re very good — every month, the MP3 Store puts 100 albums on sale for $5 each.  The selection changes each month, so it’s a bit like the old days when you’d go rooting through the Bargain Bin at the record store; it’s a crapshoot, but it’s fun to see if you can find a deal, and unlike the record store’s bargain bin Amazon’s actually has enough decent stuff to make it worth the effort.  It’s a great way to pick up stuff you’d heard of but aren’t sure if you’ll like, to build out your digital music collection, or to replace that old CD you used to listen to until it got scratched.

All of which is to say that when Amazon rolls out their new $5 album selection each month, I generally go poking through it to see what I can find.  And it occurred to me that since I’m already doing this, I might as well take the time to post my findings here, on the off chance that there’s an album or two in there that you, dear reader, might be interested in as well.

(Note: Designating these albums as “my picks” doesn’t mean that I necessarily like them, or that I would buy them myself; it just means that I think it’s notable that it’s on sale.  Though in most cases albums in genres I’m not a fan of won’t catch my eye as I go through the sale list, so you should probably resign yourself to my picks being skewed towards my interests. If you don’t like that, go make your own damn picks.)

So, without further ado, here (in no particular order) are my sale picks for March, 2011:

	Licensed to Ill The Beastie Boys
	Room On Fire The Strokes
	Sound of Silver LCD Soundsystem
	Sea Change Beck
	Full Moon Fever Tom Petty
	In Utero Nirvana
	August & Everything After Counting Crows
	Fever To Tell Yeah Yeah Yeahs
	XO Elliott Smith
	On Avery Island Neutral Milk Hotel
	Monster R.E.M.
	Let It Bleed The Rolling Stones
	Frampton Comes Alive! Peter Frampton
	OK Computer Radiohead

Here’s a direct link to the complete list of March’s 100 $5 albums, if my picks don’t appeal.  Metalheads should note that Amazon also 50 more metal albums on sale for $5 each this month only as well.