[ElectroPulse]

Hello, all!

I am looking at purchasing the soundtrack of a music I just saw recently (specifically, Frozen). As I don't really have that much of a music collection tied to iTunes, Amazon, or Google, I am currently trying to decide between them.

It looks like iTunes is the only one that offers AAC, but it's 256kbps, whereas Google offers MP3 at 320kbps... And lastly, Amazon offers there's at 256kbps MP3.

Which of these is the higher quality, between iTunes and Google? A while back I believe I read that AAC at a lower bitrate was equal to MP3 at a higher one, but am unsure.

The reason I am considering Amazon is that for only $3 more than the digital album, I could get it on CD... What format is usually on the CDs? Is this lossless?

Which would you recommend?

Thanks!
ElectroPulse

 

[mjakopa]

Some people prefer 256 AAC to 320 MP3. Personally I don't really hear a difference, but it could be more of an issue with classical. Personally I'd spend the extra 3 bucks and get the CD. I assume that would be the original CD, which means lossless of course.

 

[Garraty]

Hello, all!

I am looking at purchasing the soundtrack of a music I just saw recently (specifically, Frozen). As I don't really have that much of a music collection tied to iTunes, Amazon, or Google, I am currently trying to decide between them.

It looks like iTunes is the only one that offers AAC, but it's 256kbps, whereas Google offers MP3 at 320kbps... And lastly, Amazon offers there's at 256kbps MP3.

Which of these is the higher quality, between iTunes and Google? A while back I believe I read that AAC at a lower bitrate was equal to MP3 at a higher one, but am unsure.

The reason I am considering Amazon is that for only $3 more than the digital album, I could get it on CD... What format is usually on the CDs? Is this lossless?

Which would you recommend?

Thanks!
ElectroPulse

 
Personally, like the poster above me said, I'd stick to CD's. This may get costly over time (you can buy them used however, for cheap as hell) but look at it this way, since CD's are lossless in SQ, you can rip it to FLAC or WAV or any other lossless format you like. 
 
This way, if you lose the physical CD's, you'll still have the music in its original form which can be converted into any lossy and lossless format. However, if you'd rather not spend to extra money and just go digital, that's fine as well. I'd stick to MP3 320 CBR as that's a very common, accessible format.
 
If you're worried about the sound differences, don't be. There have been numerous tests of comparing FLAC and MP3 320 CBR blind with good equipment and many can't tell. Most people buy CD's because they can always be converted into other formats and you don't have to worry if there are sound differences because you're not using lossy formats.
 
Cheers!