Though Amazon may have been late out of the gate, they certainly delivered in launching a rival to Apple's iTunes.

Called amazonmp3, the new service is DRM-free and touts prices that are largely cheaper than iTunes'.

Prices start at US$ 0.89 a song, with top-selling albums going for no more than $8.99.

According to a press release, the service launched with 2 million songs from 80,000 artists. Roughly half of those songs go for US$ 0.89.

iTunes prices most of its songs at US$ 0.99 Stateside. The company recently endured flak in the UK for the high cost of its TV show sales there.
Unlike iTunes, Amazon-purchased music is compatible with all music players. Amazon utilizes the MP3 format, while songs sold on iTunes are playable only on Apple hardware.