Exclusive & Free Albums You Can Download Right Now on Google Play Music

Google's music offerings have been on a roll lately. First they announced a new music video streaming service called YouTube Music Key, offering ad-free playback with background listening. Then they stated that the new offering would be rolled in with their Google Play Music service, with members allowed to exclusively test the Music Key beta, which just went live. And if all that wasn't enough, they're also offering free music to boot!

Although the following albums are technically free, you will need a valid credit card to process the "transaction" (billed as $0.00), and need to reside in the U.S. It should go without saying that you'll need a Google account, and if you want to listen using your phone or tablet, the Google Play Music app (for Android and/or iOS). With all that out of the way, let's get to the tunes.

Ludacris: Burning Bridges (Exclusive)

Ludacris is back, and his new EP is available for pre-order right now, exclusively from Google Play Music. Burning Bridges isn't set to be released until December 16th, but there's no reason that you can't pre-order it now, especially since it may actually cost something in a few weeks, as opposed to free right now.

• Ludacris: Burning Bridges (Google Play Exclusive)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Awesome Mix Vol. 1)

We've already covered this, but it's worth mentioning again, because not only was the movie Guardians of the Galaxy awesome, Star-Lord's much valued mixtape had some nostalgic tracks on it. And while Google initially made the album free for only a day, it's popularity probably allowed them to extend that offer.

• Guardians of the Galaxy (Awesome Mix Vol. 1)

Lorde: Pure Heroine

Taylor Swift may be pop's biggest artist, but 2014 was still a damn good year for New Zealand's Lorde. So much so that even the guys at South Park couldn't resist a full episode of friendly ribbing. Ya ya ya! Now, for a limited time, you can grab her Pure Heroine album for free.

• Lorde: Pure Heroine

That's it for now, but I'll update this post when more interesting and popular music gets the ever-popular "free" tag. Share your favorite tracks from these albums with us in the comments below, or hit us up on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.