For those comfortable with command-line tools, reviewers from stemsplit.io recommend . It is a free, open-source tool that extracts the best available audio stream and uses FFmpeg to losslessly convert it to FLAC. Command: yt-dlp -f ba -x --audio-format flac
If you prefer a graphical interface, is rated highly for its ability to batch-download entire playlists while preserving metadata and album art. yt flac best
If you are a creator, always upload in 48 kHz / 24-bit FLAC to give YouTube's transcoder the cleanest possible source. For those comfortable with command-line tools
It is important to understand that YouTube . The highest quality audio YouTube provides is typically 256 kbps AAC for YouTube Music Premium or ~128-160 kbps Opus for standard videos. yt flac best