
But that quality has a price: lossless files are much larger than AAC or MP3 files, usually about five times the size of their compressed cousins. When you play lossless files, they sound exactly like the original uncompressed files from which they were made. Here are some of the formats you’re likely to come across.As previously mentioned, lossless compression doesn’t toss away any musical information (as compressed MP3 or AAC files do). (Most sites also offer MP3 or AAC files as well.) You can find them on Web sites of artists, including the Grateful Dead and Nine Inch Nails on sites such as, which sells live concerts as well as albums by dozens of bands (including Buddy Guy, George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars, Metallica, The Black Crowes, and David Grisman) on live music Web sites such as Etree BitTorrent and ’s Live Music Archive, where trade-friendly bands allow free downloads of their live recordings and from classical music labels such as Pristine Classical, an online dealer of historical classical music recordings.
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Lossless formats-those that compress music without removing any information, just like a zip file-such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and SHN (Shorten) are widely enjoyed by music fans who want the highest fidelity.


Because MP3 and AAC get most of the press, a lot of iTunes and iPod users have never heard of the many audio formats out there.
