How is iTunes anyway? How is the selection? I'm still partial to the album concept. Rarely a musician I like only produces one worthy track on a CD, so I'm usually quite fine with buying the whole thing. I trust my encoding skills a bit more, too. I've yet to find good quality encoding online. It's usually CBR or too low a bitrate.
Mark, It's funny you should say that you usually enjoy an entire CD. I do, too - for MOST artists. Because most popular music is such rubbish, though, I do appreciate the track-by-track option to select the best music from an album, rather than buying the whole thing. "Pay for what you like" is a great marketing strategy. The selection on the iTunes Store leaves a little to be desired. They did spread their net wide, and more is being added all the time. I think they'll do really well after a lot more is added. Since this has been nothing less than extremely profitable for Apple, you can bet that there will be a substantial increase in the number of included music at about the same time they release iTunes for Windows. Apple'e encoding requirements are good, but are not 256! If you want the highest quality encoding, you're best off doing it yourself. However, that aside, they have set a new bar for the quality of encoding; Apple's offerings are FAR better-sounding than a 128 MP3. The Apple store DOES have ease-of-use in their favor. One-click shopping is fantastic, if you're careful. We ALL KNOW that you didn't "accidentally" buy that Ace of Bass, Chris... You're a fan, admit it!!! =D According to the mac rumors sites, the European market should be able to tap the iTunes Store by the beginning of next year. Unfortunately with all the stupid rules and regulations set up regarding trade and money and such, Apple is slow to offer the European market access to iTunes Store; however, you should see a European version of it soon. I hope this helps, guys!! -Brian