It’s been so long since there was a new Goldfrapp album out… “Felt Mountain” is clearly one of my favorite albums ever. I enjoyed Goldfrapp’s followups “Black Cherry” and “Supernature” slightly less than their first album, but they’re still full of great music.

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At least, semi-officially. The store is now in “public beta”.

Click through here to check it out.

Salient points:

• Tracks are encoded as 256Kbps VBR MP3 files, without any DRM restricting your ability to use them
• Most songs are 89 or 99 cents, compared to $1.29 for iTunes Plus
• If you buy an album, you must download it using Amazon’s MP3 Installer. You can download individual songs with or without the installer
• Amazon’s MP3 Installer will automatically add the song to iTunes or Microsoft’s Windows Media Player
• Downloaded songs should be compatible with any iPod, Zune or other MP3 player or device
• You should be able to burn downloaded songs to CD if you want
• At this time, I believe that only EMI and Universal are offering MP3
• DRM-free is not a license to scatter them far and wide across the Internet. When you buy, you agree to terms and conditions governing the use of this music.
• Of course, you can’t get a refund on an MP3 after you download it
• Amazon gives you a free sample song - Energy, by The Apples In Stereo - in order to try out the downloader
• On my test download, Amazon’s MP3 Installer downloaded the file and installed it into iTunes without any interruption in what I was currently listening to
• It appears that you cannot re-download a song once you’ve downloaded it (you can with the free song - because it’s free)

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The iTunes Store has made Sufjan Stevens’ “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever” available as a free download. Free songs are usually available for a couple of weeks at the iTunes Store. It’s a pretty good song, and a welcome relief from most holiday music. Click on the icon to download it:

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I generally can’t wait for the holiday music to subside, but if you’re in the mood for it, iTunes’ free song of the week this week is Sarah McLachlan’s version of “Silent Night”. I you want a copy, click on .

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