Apple iTunes Review

I have been using iTunes for several years now and absolutely enjoy it. Although I am an iPod owner, I started using the service before I actually owned an iPod. It revolutionized the music listeners ability to buy the songs they want instead of buying a whole CD and only listening to a couple of the songs on it. iTunes also allows users to import their own music, organize playlists, edit tracks (if a song is too long or you want to cut out the long intro or the hidden track tacked on at the end of your song then you can do so by changing the start and end times to meet your preference). Users can also easily back up their iTunes Library or just their iTunes Purchases either to CD's or DVD's easily...in order to save themselves the heartache and loss of music if their Hard Drive crashes or something else unfortunate happens. For those that lose their music and complain that iTunes does not allow you to redownload purchases, a pop up message asks you if you would like to back up your music after purchase and warns you of the importance of doing so periodically. Also, in some rare cases you can contact Customer Service to see if it is possible for a one time redownload allowance although this is not in any way guaranteed.

There is also the free tracks available weekly on iTunes...they allow users to hear music they may not otherwise have heard...and sometimes you pick up some great gems! There are also free videos and podcasts available. Despite the complaint by those that do not own iPods that iTunes songs can only be used on iPods this is not true. You can easily burn your purchases to a blank CD and import the songs into a different program for use on your non-iPod devices and now there are many DRM-free songs available for purchase on iTunes that allow you to use those tracks in an unrestricted way (reasonably and legally, of course). 

Unfortunately, sometimes you may not be able to find an album or track you have been searching for on iTunes. Also, there are times when some tracks are not available for individual download and can only be purchased if the whole album is purchased, which can be annoying...especially when you are used to being able to pick only what you want. Also, at times iTunes will run slow.