Would it be possible to run applications found on the Android market store in an emulator

Would it be 开发者_运维百科possible to run applications found on the Android market store in an emulator so that I can try the free applications?

Yes :D! You just need to get some pre-loaded AVD containing a custom system image. You can find full instructions here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/21862/how-to-enable-the-android-market-in-the-google-android-emulator/