I'm still running 98SE (more or less), and the RA files at Max Hunter work for me on RealPlayer 6.0.9.584. The AIFF files are better quality, though.

There is no English equivalent to online resources like the Max Hunter or John Quincy Wolf collections, or the various 'American Memory' recordings, because none of our academic or governmental institutions are prepared to stump up the money. There are sound recordings scattered about in various places, though. Some are at FARNE (mostly instrumental music from the NE, though I think some songs), but it's designed to look good rather than for ease of use. Closest stable url:

http://www.asaplive.com/Archive/browse_by_collection.asp

Far easier to use, though as yet quite small, is the 'Yorkshire Garland' site, with recordings of traditional singers from the region. More files are to be added soon.

http://www.yorkshirefolksong.net/

Hidden away quite deep in a sub-site of the British Library is a set of cylinder recordings belonging to EFDSS. Most are songs in Scottish Gaelic recorded by Lucy Broadwood, but there are some English and Welsh singers to be heard. There doesn't seem to be any way of providing a stable url for a direct link, so you will need to go to this page:

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/wax/

...and enter EFDSS in the search window. This will produce a list of the 57 items, spread over six pages. The recordings are available as streaming audio (WMA) only.

Beside the material Jim mentioned, the VWML sound archive also includes copies of the BBC recordings made in the 1950s, together with many commercial releases. Unfortunately I've never had time on my visits there to use the sound library. You should phone in advance to book an appointment; contact details are at

http://efdss.org/library.htm.

Note that for legal reasons the VWML can't provide copies of its audio holdings.

Finally, there is a list of links to website collections of print and audio resources at

http://www.folk-network.com/directory/links/song-collections_web.html

It is in need of an update, but provides plenty to be going on with.

The Carpenter recordings will eventually be available online in new transcriptions, cleaned up and played at the correct speed; this due to American funding. It's a long-term project, though, and will take some time yet to complete.