So your dilemma is that you don’t have $18 or so to shell out for a shiny new CD, much less… So your dilemma is that you don’t have $18 or so to shell out for a shiny new CD, much less $750 to $150,000 to spare for each illegally downloaded song from said artist. What’s a poor college student to do?

Fear not, there are options that won’t break the bank.

If you are one of the 4% of computer users who own an iMac, then you have the option to pick and choose from 200,000 songs from the iTunes Music Store for $.99 each. For the most part, this is a bargain – take 311’s latest release, the 11-track Evolver. It can be purchased at Sam Goody for $14.99. If you have the program iTunes 4 on your iMac, you can download the whole album for $10.89. The same service works with iPod owners. Availability may be the only problem you will run into here – with only 200,000 songs, those 11 songs may not be a part of the iTunes library.

Oakland is home to a few second-hand music stores where you can buy, sell and trade CDs, records, tapes and movies. You will be able to get new and used releases at a fraction of the price. Check out Dave’s Music Mine at either location – Forbes Avenue in Oakland or Carson Street on the South Side – CD Warehouse on Forbes Avenue here in Oakland and the Record Graveyard on N. Craig St. Of course, there are many more second-hand music stores in the area, but with PAT bus routes waning, these are the most convenient.Another possibility is to subscribe to peer-to-peer networks, to ensure that your moniker will remain off the list of those subpoenaed. For $9.95 a month, Rhapsody allows users to help themselves to set up an online playlist. Visit http://www.listen.com for more information. A subscription-based version of Napster is also in the works. Another option is http://www.mp3.com, where a variety of songs can be legally downloaded for free.Don’t fret too much, legit music isn’t too far from your fingertips, nor will it hollow your wallet.