Sounds like the best things in life are still FREE

I was recently working on a track with Cisko Bars and needed to go on a a scavenger hunt for some imaginative sound effects (SFX) to illustrate a rap verse (a-la classic Eminem).  About 5 years ago I had tried finding good royalty-free SFX online, but failed--free user-generated content was just not there yet.

 

I was surprised when running into http://freesound.org because content had improved drastically over the last few years and  I was able to find suitable sounds for ALL of my ideas.  I even had the option of choosing from several sounds in most cases.  Here's exactly what I was able to find (sorry if the lyrics don't make sense--they are taken out of context):

 

1. Working in the lab (electricity)

2. Barking like a lab (dog barking)

3. Dreaming bout that money (electronic alarm)

4. Baking up product (analog timer and bell)

6. On my deck (skateboard)

7. I'm a grind (skateboard screeching)

8. I say what I gotta say ("okay")

9. Got a dollar in my pocket (cash register)

10. Young money (baby)

11. Young literati (chorus)

12. Quick like a (rocket)

13. The mazzarati (car breaking)

14.1. Dent it with karate (whoosh)

14. Dent it with karate (Ninja punch)

15. Keen martial artist (hiya)

16. Like alla the time (tic tac clock)

17. Wasting a dime (change)

 

The site is designed very thorughfully, which allows you to find exactly what you're looking for FAST.  I'm still new to it, but here are some excellet design decisions I noticed:

What are you waiting for? Go make some hippie music with all these commual sounds and follow me on twitter @synth_mode for more audio-related articles!