I have been a fan of eMusic for many years. I originally signed up some 6 or so years ago back when you could download unlimited songs for a flat monthly fee. This changed about 5 years ago and I put my account on hold for a bit but ended up returning again about 4 years ago. The reasons at the time were that I believe in paying for my music but I hate DRM and I believe music prices are priced artificially too high. Emusic offered me alternatives to DRM and high prices for much of the music I listen to (which is mostly not Top 40 stuff, though I do occassionally purchase some popular artists such as Fergie, Gwen Stefani and Rihanna).

As of July, eMusic is changing dramatically, by signing with some big name labels and offering more mainstream artists. This affects our accounts, especially people like me who are grandfathered in at old rates. However, it may be offset by a greater amount of options. I can comment on that more once we see what exactly they are adding (we've only been given hints so far but few specifics). For now, I wanted to list my favorite albums that I have downloaded from emusic (in alphabetic order by artist). This only includes the period from 2006 that my account tracks and, for the most part, they are all still available on the service.

Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments.

As I have mentioned on this semi-regular column before, I love Latin music, just not the stuff you might catch on American Top 40 radio stations. Most of what I like falls under the "Alt-Latin" category but I am also a big fan of the "Electronic" music category and sometimes these two worlds meet nicely. The following are my three favorite electro-pop bands and the respective albums. If you have some favorites of your own in this genre, please feel free to share them in the comments as I would love to hear more. :)

After a long hiatus, I have decided to bring back my "Music for Your Work Week" series. They weren't the most widely read posts, but as a music fan, I like writing them. Plus, I download so many albums, perhaps someone will be interested in my occassional "finds."

This week's pick is an album I downloaded from Emusic several months ago, but am always surprised and impressed whenever I listen to it. Citrus by Asobi Seksu (apparently Japanese for "playful sex") is a wonderful and generally upbeat mixture of alternative rock/pop that is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine with more than a dash of the Primitives thrown in.

I first heard of Lily Allen when browsing iTunes and I liked the snippets of a few of her songs that were available...this was back in October I think - she has since been featured as one of the free song of the week picks for her single "Smile". Unfortunately, since I don't buy anything from iTunes anymore for the reason that I hate DRM (try eMusic:) and she doesn't actually have an official US release yet, it is hard to find her "Alright, Still" album at your average store - I did find it at a Best Buy in Miami as an import but I had checked a number of places prior.

Anyway, all this rambling is to say, if you find this album, pick it up. Recently picked by Entertainment Weekly as one of their 10 best albums of the year despite its import only status, this is a great pop album (note: a domestic release is apparently due on January 30th). The songs are all catchy and have great lyrics that are full of wit and attitude (and not the kind of wit that can get old after several listens). I guess the closest comparison to anything I listen to would be to Jem, but Allen is far less mainstream IMHO (for one thing, the album isn't something you can play with the kids or the boss listening :). My faves are "LDN", "Everything's Just Wondeful", "Friday Night" and "Take What You Take" (yeah, I know that is nearly half the album...what can I say). Anyway, if you like the album feel free to let me know in the comments.

Lady Sovereign is a "British female MC" who does a unusual mix of electronica and hip-hop (of sorts) that is similar in many respects to that indie darling M.I.A. (who is also available on itunes or emusic). Her EP, Vertically Challenged (available on itunes and emusic) is filled with heavy bass lines, big beats and Sov's hyperspeed rapping. Her lyrics, where they are understandable, are funny and clever (and of course laced with obscenities, so this isn't one to play out loud in the office or in front of the kids), and the album, while brief (it is an E.P.), is a lot of fun. My personal favorites are "Random" (both versions, the remixes are worth the download on the album), "Fiddle with the Volume" and "The Battle". If you check it out, feel free to share your thoughts.