Search Capabilities:  

In order to search the iTunes store, you first have to download the iTunes music player application. The application is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. It’s likely that if you have an iPod, you already have this application installed.

Once you have the corresponding software installed searching for music at iTunes Music Store is straightforward and simple. You can browse by genre, search using the keyword box, or use the power search which narrows by title or artist.

Or you can just use the search box and search by keyword. This is really handy if you aren’t 100% of a song’s title or artist.

Feature Set:  

To access the iTunes Store you have to download the iTunes media player/ manager. It is a free application that is compatible with Mac and PC. The iTunes songs are encoded using AAC format at a 256 bitrate.

Although all of iTunes songs are free of digital rights management the AAC format may not be compatible with all portable music players. However, once your song is downloaded from iTunes Store you can use the iTunes application to convert your AAC music to MP3 format for more device compatibility.

Since iTunes’ switch to DRM-free music is a relatively new feature Apple is giving users the opportunity to “upgrade” their previous downloads encrypted with FairPlay DRM to open unprotected AAC for $.30 per song. Although this is a pretty cool concept it still means you have to fork over more cash to have your purchased music stripped of DRM. For some this could be quiet expensive; however, iTunes is the only online music store even offering a special promotion like this.

iTunes has probably set the music download features standard. In addition to music the iTunes Store also includes movies, television, podcasts, audio books, apps and more. With all those choices, you’ll never get bored. Alas, you have to have an iPod to take advantage of most of these additional features.

Some unique features of the iTunes store include a “complete my album” feature. With this, you can upload a number of titles from one music album and iTunes will search for the rest of the songs on the album for you to purchase.

They also have a new feature called “My iTunes” that uses widgets and feeds to display information about your activity on iTunes including what you’ve been listening to, watching or reviewing. Those widgets can then be displayed on your blog, social network profile or personal website.

One of our favorite iTunes features are the Celebrity Playlists. Celebrities create playlists of their favorite songs by other artists. It’s like a sneak peek into a celebrity’s iPod. You can also purchase their playlists.
iTunes also has a profile page for most of the artists in the library that includes things like a biographies, top songs, concert tickets, videos, and more.