7 Best Free Classical Music Download Sources

Download classical music MP3s from FMA, Internet Archive, and other sites

Below are my favorite places to download classical music. Each website is free to use, and when seen as a whole, these sources have well over 10,000 downloads, mostly in the MP3 format. Whether you're looking for Mozart and Bach or a more recent composer, you'll find it all here.

For more options, you can stream music online (no downloading required) or listen on the go with a free music app. This variety makes it effortless to find and listen to classical music.

01
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Classic Cat

Classic Cat top classical composers list
What We Like
  • Browse by composer or instrument.

  • Several sorting options.

  • Don't need a user account.

  • Includes a random button.

  • Few, if any ads.

What We Don't Like
  • Downloads are hosted on other sites.

Classic Cat is hands down the best place to find free classical music downloads because it's home to 7,000 listings. It provides searches by genre, instrument, composer, and performer and offers a list of the 150 most popular works. There's also a list of the Visitor's Favorites off to the side of every page.

This is their long-term goal in providing these downloads:

...for all major classical works for which the copyrights have expired there should be performances available under a very liberal license: no non-commercial limitation, freedom to integrate in your own composition and no obligation for attribution or share-alike.

One thing I don't like is that none of the music is actually housed on Classic Cat. You're taken to other websites to download the tracks. Every download, therefore, has a slightly different process to it. This also increases the likelihood that you'll run into broken download links, though they say there are regular link check to avoid that, so that's great.

02
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Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive classical choral music list
What We Like
  • Thousands of free downloads.

  • Unique sorting options.

  • Advanced search tool.

What We Don't Like
  • Few categories.

  • You need a user account.

Free Music Archive (FMA) is another site with tons of free classical music downloads, to the tune of more than 6,000.

These downloads are spread across over dozens of pages, but you can sort the list by artist name, track, album, and genre, as well as by date added and "Most Interesting."

To listen to something, use the play button next to the song. To download the MP3, select the download button to the right and log in to your account.

A user account lets you add songs to a playlist and play them directly from the browser. But even without an account, all songs are streamable before you download them.

03
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Pixabay

Classical no copyright music downloads from Pixabay
What We Like
  • Thousands of downloads.

  • No need to log in.

  • Stream it first.

What We Don't Like
  • Displays ads.

Pixabay is an extremely popular site for free images, but they also have copyright-free music that you can download in seconds. You can search for something, browse the list manually, and sort the list to find the latest or trending downloads.

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Chosic

chosic classical music free downloads
What We Like
  • Can stream before you download.

  • No need for a user account.

  • Shows similar tracks to the one you downloaded.

What We Don't Like
  • Ads are present unless you donate.

  • Search tool and tag selections include more than just classical music.

  • Relatively small collection.

In over two dozen genres are hundreds of free classical music downloads at Chosic. This website hosts lots of other music, too, but the classical downloads are on their own page with their sub-genres, such as cinematic, piano, dramatic, dark, patriotic, and sweet.

You can also filter the results so that only songs of a specific duration are listed, or music that requires no attribution.

05
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Internet Archive

Classical music playing on Archive.org
What We Like
  • Huge variety of music.

  • Can download in bulk or individually.

  • Supports streaming before downloading.

What We Don't Like
  • Cluttered, hard-to-use website.

Internet Archive has a vast collection of all types of media, including classical music. Most of it can be downloaded in the MP3 format, and sometimes OGG and others.

The only downside to using this site is that it's hard to know where to start your search. There are countless collections that include classical music, but here are a few ideas:

06
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Wikipedia: List of Sound Files

Wikipedia's list of sound files page
What We Like
  • Multiple audio format options.

  • Stream music before downloading.

  • Lots of free audio files.

What We Don't Like
  • Browse by name only.

  • Less-than-useful filtering options.

  • No longer updated; retained only for historical reference.

Wikipedia might not be the first place people go for free classical music downloads, but the site offers a big selection.

The music is organized in a table by composer name. Either scroll through the pages or sort by the name or year the piece was added to the list. The bottom of each letter page is where you can access other downloads.

This music can be streamed from the page or downloaded to your device, usually as an MP3 or OGG file.

07
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Musopen

Musopen popular classical music downloads
What We Like
  • Several ways to browse.

  • Includes sheet music.

  • Can stream first, before saving.

What We Don't Like
  • Must register a user account.

  • Standard quality audio only.

  • Limited to five downloads per day.

  • Several website ads.

  • The site sometimes doesn't work well.

Musopen has thousands of free classical music downloads from virtually any composer. It also has a ton of free sheet music available.

It's easy to find downloads from any composer. You can also browse by time period, mood, length, rating, or instrument. If you want to explore new music, check out the online radio that pulls up random music for you to stream.

Streaming directly from the site is available for everyone, but a free user account is required for downloads.

Stream Classical Music Radio Stations

Another way to get classical music is through online radio stations. For example, the AccuRadio Classical page lists several relevant radio stations, like Avant Garde Classical and All-American Classical.

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