Internet Sound and Music Recorder!

November 11, 2007 7:54 PM

Can you explain to a non-computer nerd the best way to record music from the internet?

It seems to me that there must be a way of recording the sound from say, a You-tube clip or a music video that I play on the internet, and then it somehow gets converted to a mp3 or something that I can then play on itunes or burn on a CD. I call this device or program "An Internet Sound and Music Recorder." So, where can I get such a device/program? And also which one gives really great sound quality?

Yes, I am sure that this question has been asked previously. But I couldn't understand any of the answers I found, so I am asking you. I know nothing about computers or technology but I do know that I like music.

posted by Wayman Tisdale to computers & internet (13 comments total)

There are programs that do this but they basically record every sound that is made on your computer and then you need to edit the beginning and end... but the sound quality is not great. Also if you get an instant message or aol notifys you that "you've got mail" it will also be recorded. They exist but you have to pay for them, and they suck... so I would just go to a store to buy music.
posted by pwally at 8:05 PM on November 11, 2007

Download Audacity. It'll allow you to record sounds from your mac and save them as MP3 files.
posted by kdern at 8:09 PM on November 11, 2007

Are you using Mac OS or Windows? On Mac, Ambrosia's WireTap can record audio from a single specified program.
posted by churl at 8:14 PM on November 11, 2007

There are some decent tutorials for Audacity here.
posted by jessamyn at 8:14 PM on November 11, 2007

This website will rip the audio from Youtube or other Flash Videos into mp3 or other formats.
posted by pravit at 8:21 PM on November 11, 2007

Alternatively, you can save the video content to your machine and then use something like VirtualDub or mplayer to split out the audio stream.
posted by polyglot at 8:32 PM on November 11, 2007

Google for something called "Total Recorder" It'll do this.
posted by damn dirty ape at 8:42 PM on November 11, 2007

Audacity. Free. The sound quality's as fine as how it's presented to you. Sure, recording your music off of videos on YouTube will sound way worse than buying it, especially when played on a stereo system.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:51 PM on November 11, 2007

Audacity on a Mac cannot record the audio currently playing (see bottom of this page), unfortunately. I don't know of any freeware alternatives on Mac.
posted by 6550 at 10:27 PM on November 11, 2007

Tubesock
posted by kirkaracha at 10:45 PM on November 11, 2007

Not free, but I've used Audio Hijack Pro and it works well. The sound quality will be exactly as you are hearing it through your speakers. This is Mac-only, though.
posted by stefnet at 11:19 PM on November 11, 2007

Free Download Manager will download videos from YouTube and convert them to the format of your choice. It's free and very easy to use.
posted by tdismukes at 11:57 PM on November 11, 2007

mp3mymp3

Is very easy to set up, and all you do is hit record when the youtube clip starts playing and it'll record it. When you hit "stop" it'll give you the option to save as mp3.

too easy.
posted by robotot at 2:09 PM on November 12, 2007