Amazon.com $5 MP3 Albums - New Lady Gaga, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rihanna, and More

I usually point out (um, rather late) Amazon.com's selection of $5 MP3 albums for each month, but right now they're offering more than 800 albums for that price. I'm not sure how many of these deals expire at the the end of the month (that's today), and how many will continue beyond that date. (UPDATE, 1/4/10: Amazon's site still says that "over 800" MP3 albums are available for $5 each, so you can probably assume that all the ones mentioned in the paragraphs below are still at that price.)

One Web page lists 100 $5 MP3 album downloadsfeatures selections including Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, It's Blitz by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the self-titled album by Chickenfoot, and more, with genres such as rock, blues, R&B, country, etc. all grouped together. (This may be the December selection.)

Another list of more than 800 $5 MP3 albumsis broken down by genre so you can view, say, all pop or country albums. The 50 $5 pop albums include Lady Gaga's The Fame (not to be confused with The Fame Monster), Rihanna's Rated R, Classic Sinatra: His Greatest Hits, Mandy Moore's Amanda Leigh, Fergie's The Dutchess, and Australian guitarist Orianthi's Believe. Younger listeners may squeal with delight at the chance to get teen heartthrob Justin Beiber's My World for $5.

Among the classic rock titles are some real classics, including Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

With more than 800 MP3 albums on sale for $5, I'll be buying more than a couple (am especially interested in that Orianthi album).

"Believe," New Album by Australian Guitarist Orianthi, is Out; Get Her New Single Free

I've written before about the young guitarist Orianthi, who was to be part of Michael Jackson's "This Is It" tour. She's played with a lot of her guitar heroes, from Santana to Steve Vai, and after getting a lot of attention for her rehearsals with Jackson and her stint playing in Carrie Underwood's band on the Grammy Awards, Orianthi now has her own full-length album out.

Orianthi's "Believe"drops on October 27th and is available on CD and in digital format.

The 24-year-old Orianthi (full name: Orianthi Panagaris), who's been living in Los Angeles the last few years, is currently doing promotion for "Believe," and has been announcing the latest developments on her Twitter page. As of midnight on Oct. 26th the CD is ranked #165 on Amazon's music bestsellers list (for CDs), but that is sure to rise with some high-profile appearances, such as going on "Good Morning America" on Oct. 27th. She and her band will be going on tour soon to support "Believe."

Orianthi's first single from the album, "According to You," is free on iTunes as its single of the week starting on Tuesday, October 27th.

CNN Entertainment has a story on Orianthi in which she discusses working with Jackson on his tour.

Guitarist Orianthi Turning Heads Again - Rehearsing with Michael Jackson (VIDEO)

Australian guitarist Orianthi created a buzz for her sizzling guitar playing on this year's Grammy Awards as a member of Carrie Underwood's band. Now the 24-year-old guitarist is attracting attention again with another TV performance: she's seen performing "They Don't Care About Us" on stage with Michael Jackson during one of his last rehearsals.

If you haven't seen the clip featuring Orianthi and Michael Jackson, you can view it above. Or you can see it and a video of Orianthi playing, and read more about her, in an article at MusicRadar.com.

People magazine's Web site has comments from Orianthi (whose full name is Orianthi Panagaris), on what it was like being part of Michael Jackson's final rehearsals.

Although there won't be any Michael Jackson tour for Orianthi to play, she will be performing at the public memorial for Jackson at the Staples Center in L.A. this Tuesday, according to the Australian news Web site News.com.au.

Originally from Adelaide, Australia, Orianthi moved to Los Angeles after signing a record deal. She has played with great guitarists from Steve Vai to Carlos Santana, and is working on a new album.

Orianthi is now working on her new album, but has a previous one, Violet Journey. And she is also selling some MP3s at the Orianthi fan site, www.orianthi.net.