Look for raised, coarse netting over a tan-gold background and smell the stem end: a sweet, musky aroma means it is ready. Cantaloupe softens after picking but does not get sweeter, so buy it as close to ready as you can.
What to check
Looknetting raised and pronounced (it develops as the melon matures on the vine); background color tan-gold, not green. A smooth, clean dip at the stem end means it slipped off the vine when ripe; a ragged stub means it was cut early.
Feelthe blossom end (opposite the stem) should give slightly.
Smellsweet and musky at the stem end. A cold melon from a refrigerated case smells faint even when ripe, so cup it in your hand a moment first.
Common mistakethumping it like a watermelon. Smell tells you more.
Written by the team behind RIPE, a free app that reads a photo of the whole produce pile and rings the ripest ones. Every cue above is one you can check with your own hands, and it all works with no app at all.