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What’s your ringtone? Is it something old, like Zeppelin, or something new, like Jordin Sparks? Ringtones are increasingly becoming a part of cell phone customization. Not only are people downloading more ringtones, but they’re using them in different ways. You can use different songs for individuals or groups, so you’ll always know who’s calling before even looking at the caller ID.

However, when you get a new cell phone, don’t count on getting that popular Soulja Boy ringtone included with the factory installed list. Typically, phones only include a few ringtones, wallpapers or other graphics out of the box. It’s up to you to put on the ringtones you want. My Nokia has ten preloaded ringtones and they have all been played to death by the users happy with a selected tone from their preloaded list.

There are so many websites with ringtones available; you’d be hard-pressed not to find a ringtone you’d rather use over the factory installed defaults. It’s just a matter of finding good places, in the millions of search results, to download the ringtones. Just kidding, you won’t have to search millions of results. We’ve already searched and listed the best ones here, so you can get right to the downloading.

Free Ringtones

Many websites around have free ringtones that can be downloaded and installed on your phone free of charge. Here are some of the best, but watch your bill for unauthorized charges if you decide to sign up and download from free ringtone websites.

Cellsea
More than just a ringtone download site, Cellsea is a whole online community revolved around cell phones. They provide information and reviews about cell phones.

You can browse the ringtones by genre including hard rock, techno and hip-hop. Once you select the ringtone you want, all you have to do is go to the WAP version of the website and enter the download code. Hit the done button on the cell phone so the ringtone appears and then select option to save it.

Zedge
Not only does Zedge have thousands of cell phone wallpapers to download, they have thousands of cell phone ringtones to download as well.

You can search the ringtones using a keyword or category. You have to be registered in order to download the ringtones but registration is free. Then you can download any you like and you can even upload your own ringtones for everyone to enjoy.

Cool Free Ringtones
Cool Free Ringtones is exactly that, cool free ringtones, but not limited to ringtones alone. They have over 1000 ringtones to choose from including sound effects like chainsaws, censored beeps and bottle rockets flying.

You can download the ringtone directly to your phone or download it to your computer and transfer that file to your phone via cable. There is a listing of what phones should play the ringtone so take a quick look to see if your phone is on the list. If you decide to try it with your phone anyway and it works, send them an email and let them know your phone model so they can add it to the list.

Paid Ringtones

These ringtones may not be free, but at least you have a better chance of getting any issues fixed since you did pay for them.

MTV
How could you go wrong downloading your ringtones from a television station about music? If you want a music ringtone on your cell phone, this is the place to get it. Check out their weekly top tones, most popular ringtones or new ringtones list if you are not sure what you want or browse artists by selecting the first letter in the artist’s name.

The ringtones must be purchased and they can be bought one at a time or by a monthly subscription plan ranging from the entry level plan of 2.99/month for 1 ringtone to 9.99/month for 4 ringtones and 2 wallpapers.

Ringophone
At Ringophone, you can get unlimited downloads for a small fee. You can get a wide variety of ringtones including more unique categories such as fun, nametones and anthems. It’s pretty funny having your phone telling you personally to answer it.

Before you can download, you need to sign up for one of their unlimited plans: $14.99 for 6 months of unlimited downloads or $19.99 for 12 months of unlimited downloads. They say you can even share one account with your friends so you can split the cost between downloaders.

Jamster
It seems like there isn’t anything you can’t get from Jamster. They have ringtones, graphics, games, videos and even a section dedicated to hotties. You can get real tones, poly tones, fun sounds and video tones. Some of the more notable ringtones are Scarface, Family Guy and the ever popular Crazy Frog. They also have “Nametones” sung to a disco theme, boy band or Jessica Simpson’s “Public Affair”.

Jamster has multiple plans for $5.99, depending on your downloading preference, and they include a different number of mobile downloads. For example, the Jam Plan gets you 8 ringtones, 8 graphics and musicnews each month whereas the Fun Plan gets you 6 funsounds, 6 megapics and gossipnews each month.

Funtonia
With an extensive list of artists available, there’s a good chance you will be able to find the ringtone you want here. You can even earn some extra cash by getting people to sign up.

The details on cost are tough to find. Their FAQ only mentions that the cost depends on downloading quantity and frequency, but there’s a banner stating “1 cent a tone” most likely listed as the lowest possible price for the older stuff.

Ringtone Jukebox
No confusing plans, no subscriptions, just a flat $2.99 per ringtone download. Although they support many phones, the ringtones may not work on all the cell phone models. Fortunately, they have a test feature you can use to send a sample ringtone to your cell phone. This way if it does not work, you won’t have to spend the $2.99 on something that won’t work with your phone.

For paying per tone, this website is good if you have a specific ringtone in mind you would always want to use or rarely change the ringtone since it could get quite expensive at three bucks a pop.

Create Your Own

Even with all the songs and sound clips available to be downloaded, you still might want one that is unique and not easily found. Here are some places to create your own online or download software to your computer.

The Ringtone Maker
Here you can get software for your computer to make your own ringtones for $16.49. You can also get a free trial version to try it out before you buy it.

Cellfish
Make your own ringtones online with Cellfish, a mobile media website. You can upload the mp3 file you want to use as a ringtone right on the website. From there, you can crop out the exact section (ringtone length up to 20 seconds) you want for the tone and then add it to your phone.

Ringtone Ripper
Download free software from Ringtone Ripper to make your own ringtones. Your cell phone needs to have text messaging and the service may not work with all cell phones. Check the FAQs for more information and contact them if you still have questions.

Make Own Ringtone
It hurts to say but gets the point across. Make Own Ringtone lets you upload multiple file types including mp3, wma or ogg. There are several modes allowing the user to really customize their tone.

If you want to make a quick ringtone, just use the easy mode. Advance mode lets you fade, reverse and change the speed and the expert mode opens the options echo, reverb and phaser. Once the tone is created you can download it to your computer, your phone or sent via email.

Be Creative But Choose Carefully

With all theses options available, there’s really no excuse for using the anything already preloaded on your phone. You would be wise, however, to choose carefully what songs you decide to download and use on your phone as ringtones. There are just some songs that shouldn’t be used as ringtones. Your individualism could leave you with no good reason to have a cell phone.

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