How do I Download from Itunes store using the Apple Lossless format?

You can't. All music available from the iTunes Store is AAC; no other formats are currently available for purchases. Podcast episodes come in the format specified by their creators.

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I can only get AAC format, which is low quality.

I would not call AAC 256 low quality. Yes, it's less than lossless but it's definitely not low or poor quality.

pbarcola wrote:

I guess I'll have to buy my music elsewhere. Thats sad.

Not sure why you think it is sad. If you want to buy lossless tracks, buy from one of the many online music download stores that sell lossless tracks: livedownloads.com, hdtracks.com, beatport.com, etc.

I dunno ed2345, an actual CD might be even better.

Katrina S. wrote:
I dunno ed2345, an actual CD might be even better.

Not if you only want 1 or 2 tracks from that album!

It's the only option if someone wants lossless copies of music from an artist who is on a major label, though. None of the majors allow any download store to sell lossless tracks; the only one they did, MusicGiants, has gone out of business. There are stores carrying independents and minor-label content, including the stores you mention, but for the big labels it's compressed tracks or CDs.

Regards.

So if the OP is a Justin Bieber fan he is out of luck?

In more ways than one, yes...

😉

I do agree with what i have been said. I am a musician, i think AAC is definitely medium-low quality. I bought this year lots of AAC 256 for Itunes. I have been surprised. SO many times i need to go to the equalizer to counter-balance the weakness of this file format.

I advise you to do the following. Import a CD using Apple LossLess and then import a CD using AAC 256. You will see a HUGE difference.

Now i start to buy CD again in order to get the music Quality. Then i import my CDs to Itunes using Apple LossLess (920Kbps). You will ear that on Snares and Rides. Bass will sound more natural. Bass, Medium, Sharp will more balance with each other. You will hear instruments with more clarity especially when there are a lot of instruments. Because of that, you will not need to raise up the volume.

But more than anything... you will gain VOLUME in your files.


In general over the internet all the online music stores including Itune doesn't provide HD quality. AAC 256 is not enough. A track bought over Itune Store should weight 30 megabytes, not 5. And then you would decide to compress it or not.

jojolafrite wrote:

over the internet all the online music stores including Itune doesn't provide HD quality.

That is not correct. As previously mentioned, there are several online music download stores selling downloads in CD quality, a/k/a lossless. Some of them also offer tracks in better-than-CD quality, i.e. 96/24, FLAC-HD, or 5.1 formats.

Sorry, lots of scams outta there. I bought a jazz track at HDtracks.com
File format was AAC 320kbps only.
At least we do agree about the AAC 256.
I think Apple should sell Apple LossLess files through itunes.

Thks.

jojolafrite wrote:

I think Apple should sell Apple LossLess files through itunes.

Thks.

Well I can't predict what the iTunes Store will offer in the future, but so far it has had a noticeable lack of interest in catering to the audiophile market. In fact the iTunes Store was virtually the last online music download store to give up on 128 k encoding!

For whatever reason, customers don't seem to be flocking to the online stores that already offer lossless or better downloads. (The reaction my suggestion got in this thread is typical of what I get when I suggest it, except that the implication that HDtracks is a scam is a new one.)

Anyway, CDs are still on the market so that might be a good answer for lots of people who want lossless audio and don't mind paying for the full album.

I advise you to do the following. Import a CD using Apple LossLess and then import a CD using AAC 256. You will see a HUGE difference.

Maybe a huge difference in file size, but not a huge difference (IMHO) in audio quality.
Sure there is a difference but not that much and definitely not enough to make me worry about it.

Ed2345.
You are enterily right.
Actually my words against the Itunes store have been too strong. I did some tests encoding CD>AAC 256 and CD>Apple LossLess with the same CDs and i hear no significative difference for many recordings. (The ones with no acoustic sound). If i concentrate i can hear difference for trumpets timber, snare drums, cymbals and voice. Also the bass respond differently.
Nevertheless, switching to AAC320 would put the audio quality on the safe size.

So i understood the issue may come from the Recordings themselves. When you buy one Itunes file from one artist and another and another. you have 3 recordings close to each other. you hear the difference of gain, the difference of mix.

Nevertheless if you buy CDs, and if you don't want to loose anything you import them in Apple LossLess but i think it is useful only for classical music and Jazz music.