So the other day I found this site, Daytrotter.com. Some of you may already know about it, but I’m new here. 
Anyhow…I was incredibly impressed with the concept of this site/blog. They have musical artists of many types–from obscure to famous, and everything in between–come through their studio in Rock Island, IL. The artist or band will play a few of their songs, live-in-studio–and then Daytrotter does some minor mixing (no editing) and gives away the mp3s of the session on the website.
Yes. Gives them away. With the artist’s full permission.
The whole site has this amazing vibe of providing organic, un-tampered-with versions of the artists that come through. Daytrotter even creates original artwork portraits of the artists, rather than using photographs of them. All of it designed to present the artist as unpolished, raw, and real. None of the studio tweaks; just the artist–and the art.
The result is sometimes less than perfect–but that’s what they’re looking for. On the other hand, sometimes this format captures some of the most honest and powerful live renditions of your favorite songs that you would ever hear. And you get to download them for free. Because that’s how Daytrotter rolls.
Don’t take my word for it; go check it out.