A few people asked why I do not feature free albums that require registration. This is because I do not really consider it a free album. You are essentially paying with your privacy. The information can be used, and is used, to create a mailing list, marketing purposes, or to allow the artists to estimate his customer base. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is a perfectly acceptable method to increase your market, whether you are an artist, a record label or any type of business. But you are giving something of value for the product.

But, as I said, I have no problem with it. In fact, especially with so many artists and record companies looking for new market strategies, there is an increase in the amount of “free” online albums available for only an email address or some other form of identity. I thought I would mention some of the current ones and you can use your own judgment.

West coast punk stalwarts Pennywise are debuting their new album by offering it for free from their Myspace page. You must be a member of Myspace and add Textango as a friend. The specific instructions are available from the page. I haven’t tried it..probably won’t…but Pennywise is one of the better hardcore punk groups to come out of the California scene. So if you are into the scene, it might be worth it. Caveat emptor.

One “subscription needed” freebie I can highly recommend is from the Classical record label Chandos. By simply subscribing to their newsletter you can download a free full-length MP3 album each month. The album for March is An Introduction To Edward Elgar featuring fine performances of Elgar’s compositions including “Pomp and Circumstances”and the “Enigma Variations”. Next month’s album will feature works by Prokofiev. I consider this the music deal of the internet. I’m also looking forward to the newsletter although I’ve yet to receive it.

Aside from the thousands of independent music treasures they regularly offer, eMusic’s paid subscribers are often treated to free offerings ranging from record label samplers to full albums by unknown but talented artists. I’ve been told that non-subscribers can gain access to these albums but my attempt on another computer failed to verify this. Nonetheless, I’ve been a happy eMusic subscriber for six years so it might be worth the bucks to subscribe if you are a music fanatic like me.

Ex-Boo Radley songwriter Martin Carr has his sixth Bravecaptain album, Distractions available by subscribing to his newsletter. Haven’t tried it but a number of my readers have recommended it. So give it a go if you are so inclined.

A while back I was lucky enough to download the six track EP Stop Drop and Roll by Foxboro Hot Tubs which went on their site for three days then disappeared. It is a delicious throwback to the days of 60s garage bands. It appears that Foxboro Hot Tubs may actually be Green Day. Certainly if the vocalist isn’t Billy Joe Armstrong, he is doing a hell of an impersonation. You can still get one MP3 trackoff the album from the web site but you’ll have to wait for the full length (12 track) CD for the rest. My guess is that it will be well worth the wait.

And while I’m at it, thanks for all your recommendations. Feel free to email me about good free and legal albums, yours or someone else’s, but please understand that I can’t reply to every single e-mail (gotta work sometimes) and I can’t feature every single album. In fact, only about 10 to 20% of the albums I listen to make it to the blog. Nonetheless, I do find time to listen to every single recommendation (eventually!) and appreciate all comments and recs.