HQ music download: where?

Where do you guys use to download high quality digital music?
I used to get great FREE vinyl rips in FLAC format from http://www.24bit96khz.org/, but this site is now indefinitely closed due to the storm that hit the file hosts like Mega Upload.
Are there any chances of free download now?

Wow, how did I miss that site? Is it permanently shut down?

I downloaded a few torrent files of 96k/24bit vinyl rips that stumbled across from time to time, but all this time, I didn't know 24bit96khz.org even existed. I tried accessing the site, but the page was blank. 

My neighbor mentioned that he downloads music from HDTracks.com, but that is a pay site.

Wow, how did I miss that site? Is it permanently shut down?

I downloaded a few torrent files of 96k/24bit vinyl rips that stumbled across from time to time, but all this time, I didn't know 24bit96khz.org even existed. I tried accessing the site, but the page was blank. 

My neighbor mentioned that he downloads music from HDTracks.com, but that is a pay site.

24bit96kHz started around 2010 and was operated by a guy in Argentina who wanted to have free HQ FLACs for anybody. A number of contributors ripped their vinyl collections and uploaded them on various file hosting services with the sharing option activated. Then this guy made links to these uploads on 24bit96kHz, and also created multiple backups of these uploads on others file hosting services. Everybody did this for free, he just accepted donations to maintain the site.
There were a few hundreds of LPs, most audiophile pressings (MFSL, Classic Records, Nimbus Supercut...) or at least good first pressings (Japan, USA, UK...), all ripped at 24 bits / 96 kHz and sometimes even at 192 kHz. Most rips were done with good analog gear with audiophile quality as a goal. New additions almost every day.
The site didn't make any advertising on other sites or anywhere, but kept a low profile, possibly not to get undesired attention...I've stumbled on it myself accidentally while researching for FLACs
When Mega Upload was closed early this year, all other file hosting services shut down their sharing options, or just deleted all files and accounts, and 24bit96kHz quickly lost 90% of the uploads. The guy also lost a lot of money when his accounts were closed but he didn't get his money back...So he decided to close the site indefinitely, waiting for better times. I subbed to his newsletter, since he promised to notify everybody if he's going to start the site again.
I really hope he can come back somehow, since the site was freaking good. Over time I've downloaded more than 40 great LPs...Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, Kraftwerk, Alan Parson Project, John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Skip James, just to name a few.

It figures that I found out about the site when it's too late.   

It looks like 2012 will be end of the internet as we know it. More and more cool sites are being forced to shut down. Our freedom and privacy is being stripped away right before our eyes. SOPA, ACTA, CISPA and whatever else they come up with is just going to make it worse.  There has been an increase in the number of Youtube channels being hit with copyright take down notices, even for videos uploaded years ago. I'm half afraid to post any new videos for fear of getting a copyright strike.

The 'powers that be' are regulating all of the fun and creativity out of the internet while we stand by and watch, powerless to stop them. 

It figures that I found out about the site when it's too late.   

It looks like 2012 will be end of the internet as we know it. More and more cool sites are being forced to shut down. Our freedom and privacy is being stripped away right before our eyes. SOPA, ACTA, CISPA and whatever else they come up with is just going to make it worse.  There has been an increase in the number of Youtube channels being hit with copyright take down notices, even for videos uploaded years ago. I'm half afraid to post any new videos for fear of getting a copyright strike.

The 'powers that be' are regulating all of the fun and creativity out of the internet while we stand by and watch, powerless to stop them. 

I'm going off topic, but have a look at this:
http://freedomreigns.us/ALERTS.html
This gives me some hope.

I'm going off topic, but have a look at this:
http://freedomreigns.us/ALERTS.html
This gives me some hope.

It's encouraging but highly unlikely I'm afraid. Here's an interesting article from one of the founders of Google.
It looks like America is hell bent of becoming the next China when it comes to controlling and restricting the internet. The more regulations and laws we impose on the internet, the less innovation and creativity there will be. Much like the politics of business here in America, we are strangling the market with burdensome regulations that prevent new businesses from forming and growing. We don't need more regulation or new laws to comply with; we need to enforce the laws already on the books.

I'm getting way off topic here, but it is all interconnected. Politics are dictating everything nowadays. Politicians feel self righteous and indignant to the wants and needs of the population that elected them. Their idea of 'governance' is to pass worthless bill after worthless bill without studying the unintended consequences or economic burden it will incur on the tax payers. Every day, they wake up with the sole purpose of pushing a new bill though the legislature and down our throats because they feel 'they know best'. They don't know best, and more often the legislation is intended as a kick back or payoff to a political ally or group. I would love to see a day when the politicians adjourn each day with nothing new to add to our mounting debt and thousands of pages of burdensome regulations. An even better day would be when they begin to repeal the laws and regulations that stifle our economy and destroy our liberty & freedom, but in todays growing size, scope and power of the government, it's highly unlikely. 

The other day, I was cruising the net when I stumbled upon a few albums that were ripped from vinyl at 96K/24bit. One of them was the Eagles Hotel California LP - ripped from a Mobile Fidelity pressing no less! According to the included text file, the person used a modified Technics 1200 with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge. The phono preamp was a Pro-ject Tube Box SE and the recording interface was a Tascam US-144 USB A/D interface.

The recording was flawless and sounded great, but I felt the midrange was pushed forward in the mix and the 2M black seemed to heavily emphasize the treble. The hi-hat in the right channel stuck out like a sore thumb instead of blending naturally with the rest of the frequency spectrum. I don't have a MFSL pressing of Hotel California to compare with, but my standard pressing sounds more natural to my ears. I'm not sure if what I'm hearing is the character of the 2M Black coming through, or the MFSL pressing. The 'rip info.txt' file also stated that a bunch of plug-ins were used to cleanup and process the recordings, which could be what I'm hearing.

One thing is for sure, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a MFSL copy of Hotel California so I can compare. 

Is the guy's name Dr. Robert? He has the same setup as Dr. Robert, which was one of the biggest contributors to 24bit96kHz.org. I've got a bunch of rips made by him.

Is the guy's name Dr. Robert? He has the same setup as Dr. Robert, which was one of the biggest contributors to 24bit96kHz.org. I've got a bunch of rips made by him.

Yes it is!

To give you an idea what I mean, here's a sample of 'Hotel California' from my standard pressing, which I picked up from a thrift store for 25 cents:
[smg id=363 type=av]

Do you have Hotel California from Dr. Robert?

Nope, this is all I've got by Dr. Robert:

• Alan Parson Project - Eye in the Sky (Japan 1st pressing)
• Bob Dylan - Same (Columbia 2010 mono reisssue)
• Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms, Comunique (Warner/Rhino 2009 reissue)
• Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (Warner 2011 45 rpm reissue)*
• Jethro Tull - Aqualung (DCC Compact Classic reissue)*
• Pink Floyd - Meddle (MoFi printed in Japan)
• The Beatles - Revolver, Sgt. Peppers, Magical Mistery Tour, Abbey Road (MoFi)

The rips with the * were made through this setup:
Nitty Gritty RCM 1.5
Technics SL-1210 MK2 DD Turntable
Origin Live OL1 fully modified tone arm (Rega RB250)
Audio-Technica AT33EV MC Cartridge
Pro-ject Tube Box SE II Preamp
Tascam US-144 external USB 2.0 Audiointerface
Mac Pro Dual Zeon 2.66 GHz
Bias Peak Pro 6.2 recording software
Click Repair 3.4.1 for de-click (manual mode only)
iZotope RX Advanced 2.0 for Redbook conversion
xACT 1.71 for Redbook SBE correction
XLD Version 20110228 (129.0) for FLAC conversion

The others have the same setup as Hotel California.
Let me know if you want some samples (let me guess...Rumours?  ).

I just got a ton of new HD music.   

CD Digital Rips:
• Pretenders II (MFSL SACD - CD layer rip)
• Tom Petty 'Hard Promises' (MFSL UDCD)
• The Cars 'Candy-O' (MFSL UDCD)
• REM - 'Reckoning' (MFSL UDCD)
• Supertramp 'Breakfast in America' (MFSL UDCD)
• Supertramp 'Crime of the Century' (MFSL UDCD)
• RUSH 'Permanent Waves' (MFSL UDCD)
• Huey Lewis and the News 'Sports' (MFSL UDCD)
• Metallica 'Master of Puppets' (DCC 24k gold)
• Stevie Ray Vaughn 'The Sky is Crying' (MFSL UDCD)
• Stevie Ray Vaughn 'In Step' (MFSL UDSACD)
• Jethro Tull 'Original Masters' (1998 DCC 24k gold)
• Def Leppard 'Hysteria' (MFSL UDCD II)
• The Cars 'The Cars' (DCC 24k gold)
• Tears for Fears 'Songs from the Big Chair' (MFSL UDCD)
• Pink Floyd 'The Wall' (MFSL UDCD)
• Deep Purple 'Made in Japan' (DCC 24k gold)
• Tom Petty 'Damn the Torpedoes' (MFSL UDCD)
• Cream 'Fresh Cream' (DCC 24k gold)
• U2 'War' (MFSL UDCD II)
• Steve Miller Band 'Fly Like an Eagle' (DCC 24k gold)
• Allman Brothers 'Eat a Peach' (MFSL UDCD)
• The Cars 'Shake it Up' (MFSL UDCD)
• John Mellencamp 'Scarecrow' (MFSL UDCD)
• The Steve Miller Band 'Book of Dreams' (DCC 24k gold)
• The Doors 'The Doors' (DSS 24k gold)
• A Very Special Christmas (MFSL UDCD)
• Metallica 'Ride the Lightning' (DCC 24k gold)
• The Eagles 'Hotel California' (DCC 24k gold)
• Heart 'Dreamboat Annie' (DCC 24k gold)
• Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (SACD - CD layer rip)

HD Digital:
• Donald Fagen 'Kamakiriad' (DVD-A, 96k/24bit)
• Miles Davis 'Kind of Blue' (SACD PCM 88k/24bit)
• Black Sabbeth 'Masters of Reality' (SACD PCM 88k/24bit)
• Black Sabbeth 'Paranoid' (SACD ISO)
• Police 'Outlandos d'Amour (DSD SACD 96k/24bit)
• Police 'Ghost in the Machine' (DSD SACD 96k/24bit)
• Police 'Zenyatta Mondatta' (DSD SACD 96k/24bit)
• Police 'Reggatta de Blanc' (DSD SACD 96k/24bit)
• Police 'Synchronicity' (DSD SACD 96k/24bit)
• John Coltrane 'Soultrane' (MFSL SACD 88k/24bit)
• Pink Floyd 'Wish You Were Here' (DSD SACD 88k/24bit)

Vinyl Rips:
• The Beatles - The Collection - Boxset (MFSL 96k/24bit, Dr. Roberts)
• Pink Floyd 'Dark Side of the Moon' (MFSL UHQR 96k/24bit, unknown equipment)
• Van Halen 'OU812' (PBTHAL 96k/24bit)
• Patrick O'Hearn 'Ancient Dreams' (96k/24bit)

Bootlegs and Oddities:
• Rush - 'Echoes of the Stages' @ Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY; 10/18/1996 - rehearsal soundboard capture
• The Beatles - Control Room Monitor Mixes - Unsurpassed Outtakes (1993)

The Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs CD's sound noticeably better than the DCC 24k gold CD's, but the DCC's sound much better than the plain CD's.

I'm in the process of re-ripping all of my CD's (about 1,200 of them) into FLAC files on my server. I made the mistake years ago and ripped almost all of my CD's as mp3's. Eventually, I'd like to sell all of my CD's and stick with collecting/archiving vinyl and uncompressed digital audio files. Of course, I'll have to keep mirrored backups on separate drives in case of a hard drive crash. 

Right now, my home server has 9TB of hard drive space and I have 10TB in brand new hard drives sitting in a box as spares. My main PC has 7TB of attached storage which should be enough for now.