downloading music

I use a free program called Free Hi Q Recorder for exactly this.
It will record ANYTHING that can come out of the speakers to the computer as an unprotected mp3 and in stereo.
I look up the song I want on youtube.com and record it, and since it does the recording inside the sound system, no external sounds affect the recording.

Here is a sample of the quality it records in.
www.letsgocomputers.com/music/AllIeverWanted.mp3