Napster's back?

Well, not really. The only vestiges from Napster's previous incarnation appear to be the name and the logo.

Napster is now open for business, and located right inside Windows Media Player. If you have this swell little media player installed, you can go to “Premium Services” and install Napster from there.

The claim to have at least 500,000 tracks by now, and are adding more each day. I warn you, however, you might spend a few bucks if you check it out. I've already purchased They Might Be Giants: Flood, a Kurtis Blow track from back in the day, “I'm Chillin'”, and the new Sting Album: Sacred Love.

The sound quality is good, and since I already use Windows Media Player for playback, it's convenient. I expect that it's best for buying brand-new music that is more expensive than the $9.95 that Napster charges, or for getting one or two tracks off of otherwise lackluster albums. Also, nostalgia is a big factor, and it's easy to throw together a quick mix play list, and then burn it to CD.