Remember when the Real Player was one of the major music players a few years ago? Now, you’re hard pressed to find a computer with the Real Player installed. Yet, and surprisingly, Real is still around and better than ever. How, you ask?

Well, if products like Real Rhapsody are any indication, it’s through cutting edge products that create both value and convenience for its users.Real Rhapsody comes in two flavors: Rhapsody Unlimited, and Rhapsody To Go. Or, if you don’t feel like shelling out $12.99 or $14.99 (respectively), you can always download the software and pay on a per song basis, just like iTunes.

So how did we like Rhapsody?

Initial Impression

The website is a slick one, that’s for sure. All of the pages offer enough information, and you won’t be left wondering what you can or cannot do with the music you’ve downloaded. Rhapsody allows you to download the music to your computer or transfer them straight to your MP3 player. As well, Rhapsody members can burn CD’s at a decreased cost when compared to non members.

So how does all of this work? Well, it’s actually pretty ingenious. You don’t have to become a monthly member to download music, and you still get a lot of free features and competitive song rates. As a free member you get to listen to 25 songs a month and you can download songs at just $0.99 each. As well, you can take all of the songs you’ve downloaded and burn them on to a CD without having any hassles.

The monthly membership lets you in on a bit more, however. Monthly members can download as many songs as they want, put them on to MP3 players (if you have the Rhapsody To Go membership), and explore the many radio stations and play lists that Real offers. As well, monthly members get a 10% discount when burning songs to a CD when compared to non-members.

So, yes, the value is certainly there.

Using Rhapsody

I didn’t really use the Rhapsody To Go version as I don’t use an MP3 player, but I do use my PC as my home theater (if you saw my speaker setup you’d know why). However, at $12.99 for the regular membership, I was thrilled to cruise through the millions of songs offered by Real Rhapsody. Not only did I cruise- I downloaded quite a bit as well.

Unlike some of the other music programs out there, Rhapsody also has versions for Mac and Linux. Real is obviously focused on delivering the best experience possible for its customers, and it shows. The software is polished, attractive, and runs pretty smoothly.

I did wind up downloading about 30 songs and putting them on to a CD, and the cost was about $0.90 a CD, which is $0.10 less than iTunes. However, I feel that the real value here is the unlimited downloads for $12.99 a month.

Conclusion

I can honestly say that this is a product from Real that I don’t hate (for once). In fact, Rhapsody is refreshingly simple and completely hassle free. In terms of usefulness, I’ve found a tremendous value in the sheer number of songs I can download without having to worry about the legalities of it. I know that the RIAA won’t come knocking on my door.