OK, I’ll admit it - downloading music is a huge weakness of mine, and I’m not talking about iTunes or other legal, pay-per-download sites… I love music and I’m always on the lookout for new artists, but feeding this addiction gets expensive so I tend to frequent torrent sites for my musical desires. (Special thanks to Jeff for hooking me up with Oink!)

I’ve found a site that will help make my music collection more legit, though. I’ve been slowly spreading word of this site by word of mouth but figured it was time I motivate myself to write a post about it.

About what? lala.com

Basically it’s a CD trading site, that goes something like this:

List CDs you have, pick CDs you want, ship CDs you own to members and then get CDs you want from other members

Curious? Read more about how it works.

It’s only $1 per trade, plus $.75 for shipping and the CD is legally yours. This site is totally legal; you own the CD you get, just like going to a used CD store. Sure beats paying $10+ for a CD at a store! And lala gives 20% of the revenue back to the artist, which is a whole lot more than iTunes, WalMart, etc (percentage-wise, at least).

Once you sign up (for free, no obligations or contracts), you’ll be sent pre-paid envelopes and protective CD cases to mail the CDs. When you get a request for a CD, simply pop it into the case, put it into the pre-paid envelope with the cover art, and drop it in the mail box. That’s all there is to it. The more you send, the more you get. Of course, you’ll be giving up the CD, so be sure you’re tired of it. This is a great way for me to get rid of old CDs that I don’t listen to anymore (Bryan Adams, for instance) or impulse purchases that didn’t turn out so well. If someone requests a CD you have, but you’re not willing to part with it, you’re under no obligation to ship it.

I’ve been impressed with the selection so far. I mainly listen to Christian Rock, Punk and Alternative, and it’s been hard to find some of the newer artists on torrent sites, or even at the local Christian bookstore. I’ve gotten several of these albums from lala, though. Feels good to get them legally and inexpensively.

Give lala.com a shot if you’re looking for a cheaper way to get new music.