The best music stores, according to hackers
3 music stores were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended music store with the badge. Each figure is 10 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Money goes directly to artists
People buy music on Bandcamp to pay artists directly and get DRM-free, high-quality downloads, though many find its search, app and recommendations poor.
All 3 music stores, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bandcamp | 132 | 17 | 89% | 13 | 10 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| 2 | iTunes Store | 18 | 15 | 55% | 7 | — | — |
| 3 | 7digital | 8 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same music store in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to music stores that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.