Download & stream Grammy winners for free with Freegal

Download and stream the music of Grammy winners like Bruno Mars for free using your library card and Freegal.

Want to listen or download music by some of the Grammy winners and nominees without having to spend money on iTunes or Spotify?

Several of them have their music available on Freegal, which is free to use if you have a Mentor Public Library.

Freegal is one of the library’s digital services, which lets you download DRM-free mp3s of your favorite songs. Moreover, once you download a song, you can keep the mp3 forever. Put it on your phone, your computer, your iPod–wherever you want. It’s yours. You can download up to five songs a week.

You also get unlimited streaming, if you prefer that.

Here are some of the Grammy winners and nominees you can download now from Freegal:

Record of the Year

Winner: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars (The rest of Mark Ronson's Grammy-nominated album, Uptown Special, is also available on Freegal.)

Best New Artist

Winner: Meghan Trainor (You can get all of Trainor's bestselling Title and her new song, "Better When I'm Dancing" from the Peanuts movie from Freegal.)

Nominee: Courtney Barnett

Best Pop Vocal Album

Nominee: Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson, which includes the Grammy-nominated "Heartbeat Song"

Best R&B Album

Winner: Black Messiah by D'Angelo and the Vanguard

Nominee: Reality Show by Jazmine Sullivan

Nominee: Forever Charlie by Charlie Wilson

Nominee: Coming Home by Leon Bridges

Best Alternative Album

Nominee: Vulnicura by Bjork

Best Rap Album

Nominee: 2014 Forest Hill Drive by J. Cole

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Winner: The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern by Tony Bennett & Bill Charlapp

Nominee: Shadows in the Night by Bob Dylan

Best Rock Performance

Nominee: "Something for Nothing" by Foo Fighters

Nominee: "Ex's & Oh's" by Elle King

Nominee: "Moaning Lisa Smile" by Wolf Alice

Best Dance Recording

Nominee: "We're All We Need" by Above & Beyond

Best Country Solo Performance

Nominee: "Little Toy Guns" by Carrie Underwood

Nominee: "Burning House" by Cam

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Winner: "Cherokee" by Christian McBride Trio

Best Gospel Performance/Song

Winner: "Wanna Be Happy?" by Kirk Franklin

Best Latin Pop

Winner: A Quien Quiera Escuchar by Ricky Martin

Best Americana Album

Winner: Something More than Free by Jason Isbell

Best Blues Album

Winner: Born to Play Guitar by Buddy Guy

Best Arrangement: Instrumental or A Capella

Winner: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" by Pentatonix

Best Metal Performance

Nominee: "Identity" by August Burns Red

Nominee: "512" by Lamb of God

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Nominee: Ego Death by The Internet

Nominee: Wildheart by Miguel

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Winner: For One to Love by Cécile McLorin Salvant

Best Roots Gospel Album

Winner: Still Rockin' My Soul by The Fairfield Four

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

Winner: Hasta la Raiz by Natalie Lafourcade

Winner: Dale by Pitbull

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Nominee: "Classic Man" by Jidenna

Best R&B Performance

Nominee: "If I Don't Have You" by Tamar Braxton

Nominee: "Breathing Underwater" by Hiatus Kaiyote

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Nominee: The Gospel According to Jazz, Chapter IV by Kirk Whalum

Nominee: Guitar in the Space Age by Bill Frisell

Best Regional Roots Album

Winner: Go Go Juice by Jon Cleary

If you’re having trouble with Freegal, MPL Librarian Mary Pelton made a video explaining how to navigate its web site.

Have Yourself a very Freegal Christmas

Thanksgiving is over. Nobody can give you a dirty look for playing Christmas music now.

So if you’re looking for something different to play this Christmas or just need a new copy of an old favorite, you should check out Freegal.

Freegal is one of the library’s digital services, which lets you download DRM-free mp3s of your favorite songs. Moreover, once you download a song, you can keep the mp3 forever. Put it on your phone, your computer, your iPod–wherever you want. It’s yours.

And if you prefer to stream music, you can do that too!

If you have a Mentor Public Library card, you can download five songs for free every week from Freegal, and there's no limit to how many songs you can stream.

So here are just a smattering of your seasonal choices.

1. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me

Last year's most popular Christmas album is likely to stay in heavy rotation this year. You can even check out the new tracks the group added to their Deluxe Edition.

2. Kelly Clarkson, Wrapped in Red
Clarkson’s Christmas album is already ubiquitous. You can start downloading songs from it now for free. (If you have the patience to spread it out over a couple of weeks, then you can get the entire album. And, yes, I still call them albums.)

Personal favorite: I’m always game for a new cover of "Run, Run Rudolph." I’m less enthusiastic about "Baby, It’s Cold Outside," which is pretty much the holiday version of "Blurred Lines."

3. Harry Belafonte, Christmas
Belafonte could sing about muddy slush and it would still sound great with his voice, so it’s a delight to hear him sing these carols.

4. Dolly Parton, Home for Christmas
As a general rule, I love Dolly. This is doubly true during the holidays.

5. Ukulele Christmas
This album’s for all the people who loved Israel Kamakawiwo`ole’s version of "Over the Rainbow." And, no, these standards aren’t performed by IZ, but they have that same combination of earnestness and sweetness.

Personal favorite: "Auld Lang Syne," but you might also like the "Over the Rainbow/We Wish You a Merry Christmas" medley.

6. Kirk Franklin, Christmas
If you need some gospel music this time of year, Kirk Franklin and the Family have you covered. Standards like "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" sound sweeter than ever.

7. Harry Connick Jr., When my Heart Finds Christmas
Connick has a lot of Christmas albums in his discography. This one’s my favorite but they are all available on Freegal.

Personal favorite: "I Pray on Christmas."

8. Parranda All-Stars: Navidad
There’s a lot more to Latin Christmas music than Feliz Navidad. This album is a good place to start.

9. NSYNC, Home for Christmas
Any NSYNC fans out there? There must be some. These guys only sold 50 bajillion records.

If you bought the CD or even *gasp* the cassette when you were in middle school, here’s a chance to update your medium for free.

10. Glee Cast, Blue Christmas
If you don’t like Glee…

11. Elvis, The Classic Christmas Album
Freegal has the Elvis version of "Blue Christmas" too.

What are some of your favorite Christmas albums?

If you’re having trouble with Freegal, MPL Librarian Mary Pelton made a video explaining how to navigate its web site.