It's been five years since Audiogalaxy settled with the RIAA, and I still miss it.
Sure, there are still plenty of ways to acquire music, but Audiogalaxy was the best. It had the same "quality control" issues that all user-generated file sharing systems do, but I loved it. My favorite thing about it was the AG Satellite, which I could leave running on my home computer when I went to work. And while I was at work, if I thought of a song I needed, I could add it to my queue via the web interface and the song would usually be waiting for me by the time I got home.
The queue was great because even if there was no one online who had the song you needed, as soon as someone with the song connected, you'd get it. This was great for the really rare shit that only a handful of people cared about. And that's why I miss those old school filesharing networks: not so I can get the new White Stripes a couple weeks early, but because I was able to eventually find some pre-Monkees Mike Nesmith singles and both sides of the awful Lester Bangs 7-inch, "Let It Blurt" b/w "Live."
Try finding those on your favorite torrent tracker! (And if you do, let me know, because my copies are shitty 128kbps.)
See also: R.I.P Audiogalaxy by a former Audiogalaxy programmer.
Comments
I agree. This was the best site ever. I got so much stuff that I knew was vinyl only that someone had taken the time to burn.
Absolutely. Napster was my introduction into file-sharing, but Audiogalaxy was my Awakening. I discovered a TON of bands through that site. Nothing has managed to top it, to this day.
Although I do remember a big hub-bub when someone took Pavement's "Terror Twilight" and labeled it as the new Weezer album (this caused a major shitstorm a few months before the release of the Green Album, as people were clamoring for the new Weezer). I didn't understand the confusion, it's obvious that wasn't Weezer. But hey, maybe it won over some new Pavement fans.
Yes! Audiogalaxy was definitely my favorite file-sharing program that I've ever used. I especially loved the simplicity of the program itself. Torrents these days can get messy. Just let me click the little satellite icon instead.