If you like listening to Internet radio stations, or regularly visit websites that stream audio, you may want to record what you hear for later use. With the right software, you can record from thousands of audio sources on the Internet and quickly build up a collection of digital music that is legal. Here is a selection of free audio programs that can record streaming audio from the Internet and generate various audio file formats.
1. Screamer Radio
Screamer Radio is a software program that tunes into and records thousands of Internet radio stations across the world. Available for Windows 9x, 2000, XP, and Vista, this streaming audio program has a small footprint and can create files in the MP3 format. There are plenty of radio station presets already built into Screamer Radio, but you can also provide URLs to listen to other streaming services not in the list. Overall, Screamer Radio is a light-weight program that does an excellent job of recording music from Internet radio stations.
2. Aktiv MP3 Recorder
Aktiv MP3 Recorder is an excellent program for recording audio from various sound sources. Whether you’re listening to a streaming music service, or watching a video, you can capture the audio that is played through your soundcard. This free software has excellent audio format support and can encode to WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, AU, VOX, and AIFF. This full-featured audio recorder also has a scheduler which gives you the flexibility to record streaming audio at certain times. A highly recommended recorder for capturing all types of audio sources.
3. Musicy
Musicy is another software program similar to Screamer Radio that is specific to Internet radio. This free and open sourced software suite is an all-in-one software program for searching, recording, and managing captured music. Even though Musicy is still being developed, it has some great features and produces quality recordings. It only supports the creation of MP3 files at present but its functionality more than makes up for the lack of audio format support. A highly recommended program if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution.
4. Free Sound Recorder
Musicy is another software program similar to Screamer Radio that is specific to Internet radio. This free and open sourced software suite is an all in one software program for searching, recording, and managing your recorded songs. Even though Musicy is still being developed, it has some great features and produces quality recordings. It only creates MP3 files at present but what it offers in other areas makes up for the lack of choice when it comes to audio formats. Highly recommended if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution.
5. Streamosaur
Any audio that you listen to on your computer can be recorded using the free Streamosaur program. Whether you want to digitize analog sources (vinyl records, audio tapes, etc.), or record streaming music, Streamosaur is a flexible program that can capture audio and encode it onto your hard drive. The program natively records audio as WAV files, but you can also create MP3 files using the Lame encoder.
