latest
The free albums keep on coming on Google Play Music. First, there were twelve ICON albums geared toward country music, then a mix of nine pop and country records, and today we have nine more titles that have dropped to the nice price of free. The majority seems to be rock, alternative, or metal, but there's a bit of pop and country too — something for everyone.
Google Play Music used to offer free albums every few weeks. It looked like a win-win for everyone: users could get some free tunes, and Play Music would attract people who might not have used the service otherwise. Perhaps Google didn't feel that it was worth doing anymore, as we hadn't seen anything of the sort for over two years. But now, albums from Ariana Grande and The Beach Boys are just $0 from Play Music.
Google's "Monotune" Android commercial is pretty cool. The musical analogy is interesting (and it ties in well with Google's "be together, not the same" marketing campaign), but there's an impressive technical aspect to it as well. The producers modified a grand piano so that all 88 keys were turned to middle C, so that pianist Ji-Yong Kim could really play the music using a single note. As cool as that commercial is, they might have taken things a bit too far with the latest promotion: an entire album of music played with that one-note piano.
I'm still wondering who was really asking for a remake of the original Footloose, but if you enjoyed the 2011 version, the soundtrack probably had a lot to do with it. The movie's licensed music, most of which isn't available in single tracks, is now free on the Google Play Store. As with most of these free albums, your mileage may vary - it's a free download in the United States, but may not be available elsewhere. The 2014 album Kuntry Livin' from rap/country fusion group Big Smo (cringe) is also free today.
Dedicated cheapskates have probably built up quite a music collection on Google Play without spending a cent. The latest album to get the free treatment is the Greatest Hits compilation from psychedelic rock icon Janis Joplin, with a couple of songs from her associated band Big Brother and the Holding Company thrown in. The freebie album is available to US customers - as usual, your mileage may vary elsewhere.
Quite a few of you are probably travelling back home this weekend, and if you'd like some free or low-cost tunes to get you there, check out the Google Play Store. Play Music has four albums available for free, and another eight for just a dollar each, all from popular musicians and most of which have been released just this year. As usual, your mileage may vary with this deal - these album prices are valid in the United States, but may not be available elsewhere.
Read update
Christmas is coming. You can sit around next to a paper calendar, crossing out the days, or you can put on a seasonal album and start moving.
You dang kids. Going to "country" concerts in your Honda Civics, smoking your pot behind the port-a-potties. Back in my day* we had real country music, Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins. Not this twangy-pop garbage that pretends that all you have to do to be country is throw on jeans and a cowboy hat, while you wait for NBC to cast you as a celebrity judge on The Voice. Daggum rotten little sdfggggggggggggg...
Fans of R&B, here's another one for you. Tinashe's debut album Aquarius is now available for free from Google Play.
The Android Police staff must not be very musically eclectic, because none of us had ever heard of Bleachers before we spotted another free album on the Play Store. But don't let our lack of broad influences keep you from getting some free music: Terrible Thrills Vol. 2 is now up for grabs. Just add it to your Google account and you'll be able to stream or download it to your Android devices for free, gratis, and nothing. As with most of these free albums, it's a bit of a coin toss as to whether you can download it for free outside the US.
Last week we saw that you were able to download Playlist: The Very Best of Ciara for free (you still can, but the way). That deal isn't alone. A slew of similar albums are also available for the same low price of awesome. And they aren't limited to any one genre either.
Playlist: The Very Best of Ciara is currently available for free on Google Play. The album contains fourteen tracks of contemporary R&B from the 2000s, all by—you guessed it—Ciara.
Was the free Play: Blues Pioneers album from a few days ago not enough to satisfy your need for the blues? Silly question. What type of fan is ever happy after one album? So here's another. Google Play is giving out free digital copies of Buddy Guy's Born to Play Guitar.
Another week, another free music album on Google Play. This time it's something a little more contemplative: a classical instrumental album from Yo-Yo Ma, probably the best-known concert cellist on the planet. You can grab The Sound of Yo-Yo Ma, which incidentally is exclusive to Google Play Music, for free right now. The deal is available in the United States and probably a few other places, though we can't be sure exactly where it is and isn't valid.
Tonight the Google Play Store is giving US customers a lesson in delayed gratification. Would you rather have a free album of music in about two months, or a cheap album right now? That's the choice being presented between the self-titled Jaime Lawson and Ed Sheeran's X: the former is available for free if you pre-order it, and the latter is just a dollar, but all the songs are available right now. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from taking both of them.
Every so often the Google Play Store makes previously paid movies, TV shows, and music albums free for a limited time - add them to your account during this window and you can keep them forever. The latest album to get this treatment is Nina Revisited, a compilation of songs honoring pioneering African American singer Nina Simone. Her career spanned five decades, and her style mixed jazz, American standards, pop, and gospel, making her one of the most unique vocalists of her era. She was also a prominent member of the Civil Rights movement.
Google regularly hands out free music albums, and it tries to shake things up in the process. In the past we've seen options as varied as Disney's Frozen and Kaskade's I Remember. This week listeners are treated to Latin-flavored songs from Romeo Santos. If you head to Google Play, you can download Fórmula, Vol. 2 in its entirety without paying a cent.
It's time to take a step back in time and enjoy some of the tunes gifted to future generations from the 20th century. Google's offering three jazz albums for free in the US. One, entitled Playlist: The Very Best Of Billie Holiday, contains fifteen tracks (though it somehow lacks Strange Fruit edit: see this enlightening comment for an explanation). Playlist: The Very Best Of Miles Davis provides ten tracks from, you guessed it, Miles Davis.
Google semi-regularly offers free albums on the Play Store, and here's one for the ages. No, seriously. We're talking such timeless hits as Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 1 in B-Flat Minor and Messiah: Hallelujah! These and thirteen other tracks are waiting for those who jump on this opportunity to download the Play Classical album. This deal is probably limited to the US, but you never know.