The NPR public radio podcast All Songs Considered does a good job of introducing new albums by current and emerging artists, generally rock acts. The show also presents live shows and offers most of them free MP3 downloads.

Since July All Songs Considered has offered free downloads of full concerts by everyone from British rockers Travis to gypsy punk outfit Gogol Bordello to '70s rock pioneer Nick Lowe, indie pop band The Apples in Stereo, alt rockers Rilo Kiley, and folk artist Iron and Wine.

There's also a concert by the duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who perform under the name The Swell Season. If the names of Hansard and Irglova are familiar, it's because they're the musician-stars of the well-reviewed movie Once, about musicians busking on the streets of Dublin.