These 5 websites published by PC World will let you download music for free without fear of RIAA knocking down your door. You won’t find any top 40 here because these sites offer music from independent artists who want exposure. But who needs top 40 anyway?

beats ...

1. Venzero Mixtape: a rotating collection of MP3 tracks by “exquisite bands” that anybody can download.
2. Epitonic: where you don’t get just free music–you get free schooling too. The site features extensive writeups on all the featured artists (including links to similar acts), streaming audio, and at least one free MP3 per album.
3. Mush Records: Has artists who cover a lot of stylistic ground (they describe their range as “electronic instrumental, underground hip-hop, downtempo, abstract hip-hop, experimental, indie-rock, jazz-based grooves, turntablist compositions, electronic pop, saturated folk, left-field, dreamy stuff, more versions of hip-hop, and on and on”). And Mush is not afraid of giving away music and videos for free.
4. iSound: First is a search tool that finds bands based on their similarity to three artists you enter; second is a list of the 200 most popular tracks; and third is an icon that tells you if a band has any downloadable MP3s before you click through to their page.
5. Live Music Archive: features high-quality concert recordings from bands that are cool with noncommercial distribution of their performances.