Old time radio shows. Record albums. Audiobooks. All free online.
Table of contents
Record Albums Free Online
Recycled Records LP collection
More than 10,000 LP Records, mostly from about 1950 to about 2000. A portion of these contain only 30-second “samples” of each of the songs on the record. Many types of music, plus stand-up comedy routines, poetry, and more.
Unlocked Recordings
Over 22,000 LP Records. Another random collection, except that this does NOT contain albums with 30-second sample songs. Free records.
78rpm Records Digitized by George Blood, L.P.
As of early 2023 this giant collection contains 395,000 records, digitized for the Internet Archive.
101 Music Records LP Collection
About 30,000 LP records. Some have only 30-second ‘sample” songs.
78 Records – Daniel McNeil Collection
About 17,000 78rpm records, mostly covering American popular music throughout the first half of the 20th Century.
University of Illinois Audio Archive
University of Illinois Audio Archive – Continued
About 13,000 records at the first link, and around 12,500 at the second link. These include classical, jazz, popular, opera, movie soundtracks. Also recordings from Czechoslovakia and other eastern European countries from before WW II. For more description, go to either page and click “About”.
The Vinyl Box
Over 2,000 LP Record Albums, produced from the early 1950s to 2021. They all appear to contain complete songs (not 30-second samples), and include many albums by popular artists.
Audiobooks Free Online – Audio Short Stories
Librivox Audio Books
Librivox Audio Books on Internet Archive
Librivox is an organization of volunteers that has recorded public domain books since 2005. As of late 2024 there are 20,000 audio books here. Librivox books can also be accessed on the Internet Archive, at the second link just above, in order to carry out a search with their interface.
How to Carry out a Search for Free Audiobooks
The Librivox Audiobook collection has (as of late 2024) 20,000 books in the public domain that you can listen to online or download. Here’s how to search for audiobooks on your subject.
- Go to Internet Archive Librivox Free Audiobook Collection
- In the Search field above the first row of books, type or paste: collection:(librivoxaudio) AND
- After AND, add a space and then your search word or search phrase. Put it in parentheses. One word or a short search phrase gets more results.
- Example: collection:(librivoxaudio) AND (humorous stories)
- Under the search line are the choices: “Search metadata” and “Search text contents“. Try both.
- In the search results, you can open some books to get ideas for other relevant search terms to try.
Audio Poetry Collection
This Internet Archive collection contains over 3,000 books of poetry or long poems, in the public domain. Virtually all appear to be from the Librivox volunteer project. Included: Walt Whitman, Dante Alighieri, The Odyssey, Beowulf, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilfred Owen, Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Also numerous collections of shorter poems; some in other languages.
Audio Philosophy Collection
This Internet Archive collection contains over 2,000 books, most of which can be described as nonfiction philosophy. Virtually all items appear to be from the Librivox volunteer project, and are older books in the public domain. Included are works by Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, Voltaire, Plato, J. Krishnamurti, Tolstoy, Aristotle, Rabindranath Tagore, Schopenhauer, Confucius, Bertrand Russell, William James, Thoreau, Kant, and more.
Audio Children’s Book Collection
This Internet Archive collection contains over 1,000 children’s books. Virtually all items appear to be from the Librivox volunteer project, and are older books in the public domain. Included are most ‘classic’ children’s stories such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Adventures of Pinocchio, Little Women, The Wind in the Willows, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, The Prince and the Pauper, Heidi, The Jungle Book, etc.
Audio Science Fiction Book Collection
This Internet Archive collection contains over 400 works of Science Fiction. Virtually all items appear to be from the Librivox volunteer project, and are older books in the public domain. Included are books or story collections by H. G. Wells, Any Rand, Kurt Vonnegut, Mary Shelley, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Andre Norton, William Tenn, Jules Verne, Henry Kuttner, Philip K. Dick, more.
Audio Mystery Book Collection
This Internet Archive collection contains over 650 Mystery books or Short Story volumes. Virtually all items appear to be from the Librivox volunteer project, and are older books in the public domain. Included are several volumes of Sherlock Holmes. Books by G. K. Chesterton, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Edgar Allan Poe, Erskine Childers, John Buchan, Jane Austen, Carolyn Wells, Alice B. Emerson, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many more authors.
Audio Short Stories
Collections of audio short stories on our Century Past Short Story page.
Audio Library and Talking Books
About 400 books read by professionals, largely from the 21st century. Contains many mysteries, and fantasy books for young people. 60+ books and stories by Agatha Christie.
Audio Dramatizations of Books
Sherlock Holmes BBC Audiodramas
74 episodes, typically about 45 minutes each. These are modern professional productions.
Radio Performances of Books
Radio Shows based on books, or using books as jumping-off points for dramatic versions. Nearly 900 are here as of March 2023. They appear to be mostly BBC radio dramatizations 1985-2016.
Old Time Radio Shows
The Old Time Radio Researchers’ Collection
The mission of the Old Time Radio Researchers Group is to accurately preserve classic old time radio series from the past in order for future generations to enjoy them. This collection contains over 650 shows; many with dozens of episodes. Popular shows here include Dragnet, Richard Diamond Private Detective, The Whistler, Philip Marlow, The Great Gildersleeve, Let George Do It, Sam Spade, The Lone Ranger, Secrets of Scotland Yard, Challenge of the Yukon, Bing Crosby – Rosemary Clooney, Flash Gordon, Broadway is My Beat, Nero Wolfe, Amos & Andy, many more.
The Old Time Radio Showcase
Over 400 compilations, or collections, of old radio shows, mainly from the 1930s and 1940s. Some of these items have 100 or more episodes. A number of them were assembled by the Old Time Radio Researchers Group, which added informative introductions. Part of the content here is the same as in the previous entry, but here you can also find Burns and Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Shadow, The Black Museum (Orson Wells), Father Knows Best, Our Miss Brooks, Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Hopalong Cassidy, Johnny Dollar, Jack Benny, The Life of Riley, You Bet Your Life (Groucho Marx), Ozzie & Harriet, Dr. Kildare, Abbot & Costello, My Favorite Husband (Lucille Ball), Red Skelton, many more.