How to Find MP3 Files Using Google

Finding MP3 music files online is easy. There are many sites that will allow you to preview a song, usually a 30 second clip, and if you like, you can buy it.

But what if you want to hear the whole song before you decide to buy? Here's a Google search technique that will return links to indexes of MP3s for your listening and MP3 download pleasure.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A web browser
• An Internet connection (preferably high speed)

1. Open a web browser and browse to google.com.

2. Use the following search criteria to return links to indexes containing MP3s relevant to your search terms:
   
   (intitle:index.of + "mp3" + "band name" -htm -html -php -asp)

3. For example, let's say you like the band ColdPlay. Type in (or copy and paste) this search string in to Google's search box:
   
   (intitle:index.of + "mp3" + "coldplay" -htm -html -php -asp)
   
   The search returns a list of links to index pages containing MP3 files of ColdPlay. There may be other MP3 files in the index since the search criteria is pretty broad at this point.

4. If you are getting a lot of search results but can't find the exact MP3 you want, try the following search criteria:
   
   (intitle:index.of + "mp3" + "coldplay" -html -htm -php -asp apache feb-2005)
   
   What this search is doing is specifying only those index directories that exist on Apache servers containing MP3 files with "coldplay" in the file name whose time stamp is on or after February 2005.
   
   As of this writing, this search criteria returns only 2 links. Compare that to the 191 results returned in step 3.

5. Once you find the MP3 you want to listen to, simply click on the link in the index of MP3s. If you have a program on your computer that can play an MP3 file, that program will launch and play the song.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different search criteria. For example, if you want to return a giant list of links to MP3s to start with, use this search criteria: (intitle:index.of + mp3 + -html -htm -php -asp apache). Play around with different dates, years, months, etc. You'll be suprised at what you can find looking through index directories.
• Although this how-to demonstrates a method to find free MP3 files online, the author does not promote or advocate music piracy or MP3 file sharing and is not responsible for any copyright infringement as a result of using this search technique.

[mcorgan]

on 12/21/2007 I would recommend the book Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook by Ran Hock. I have no affiliation with the author or the book but I found some great search techniques for not only Google, but all the other popular (and the not so popular) search engines as well.

[Pathikrit]

on 12/21/2007 I have tried with other types of files....Thanks for this...Do you know more such searching techniques?

[mcorgan]

on 12/8/2007 I think that's a record for the world's fastest eHow comment from the time the how-to was published! Just minutes! Thanks and I hope it works for you.

[Ceile]

on 12/8/2007 I'm going to try this! I'ma HUGE music fan, and I am not for piracy, either, but DO enjoy listening to the entire clip before I decide to purchase! Thanks so much for this information!