[kena48]

I have struggled with Window's Vista Media Player. Is there a better program out there, or are they all geared at trying to get you to buy stuff.

I want to copy/burn CDs, Manage files, save MP3 folders, convert or upscale resolution of ripped songs, sync to 3 different devices, etc etc.

What's the best program to use?

 

[JohnT]

I bought Topee CD ripper for about $20, convert my CD's to mp3 and put them in ITunes and sync to ipod.

 

[Fred H.]

When I first got started converting MP3's from CD's, I used a program called MusicMatch, though I am not sure if it is even still around.

I found my main needs were that it had to be able to connect to the internet and search GraceNote or some other database so it could get the artist and song/album info to tag the MP3 file with, and it needed to be fast, as I converted around 500 CD's.

I also found a need for some way to Volume Level MP3's, and for this I used MP3 gain, though I would caution you to make sure to save the log file it creates, cause once you change the DB level of a file, there is no way to know what it was originally set at. I leveled all mine at around 89db if I remember right.

Then, along came Apple Itunes, and it seemed to be able to do most everything I wanted, though I did notice it was somewhat slower converting entire CD's to MP3. I later converted all my MP3's to AAC format (but I also saved the original MP3 files). Doing this cut the size of my collection in half, without any real loss in audio quality. So now I can get twice as many songs on my Ipod as before, and they still sound just as good as they did befoe. Converting my entire MP3 collection to AAC format took something like 10 hours. If I had it to do over again, I think I might have done the original conversion in AAC, although that limits the files to being used only on Ipods or in Itunes. MP3 is a more widely used format, but AAC has better compression technology. Since all I ever use is the Ipod, AAC would work fine for me.

I tried the Microsoft media player product and was not impressed with it. Music Match and Itunes were both better.

Since going to Itunes, I haven't really kept up with the latest software out there for MP3 files, and I am sure there are new products that would be worth a look.

 

[ldr_doug]

I use iTunes. I have yet to buy a song or CD over the internet, have ripped hundreds of CDs to the computer, made playlists, made music CDs, and organized music with the program.

It seems stable, feature laden, and free. It works the same on the Mac as well as PC. The only problem I see is that it has a hard time with wma files but you can convert them and most portable players are mp3 based so that's a non-issue for me.

 

[Cattman]

Music

Music Monkey and Mp3 Tag & Rename.

 

[Son of Thunder]

I use iTunes for all the reasons Fred cited, but unlike Fred, I keep all my files in mp3 format, because mp3's are compatible with my sound editing software, should I ever get the urge to tinker with a file. The difference in file size ain't no big thing to me.

 

[glockar]

Itunes has been the best for me also .

 

[KJ5IX]

I use the Media Player, and like mentioned it is a little convoluted, and wants you to sign up for stuff!!! That I really need is something that I can combine MP3 into albums ( like putting several songs into one file ) I have a problem with file structure, and have reached the 256 file limit for fat32 on the stick, but have only used 1/2 of the space!!!!!

 

[alle751]

I have used MusicMatch for awhile. The site below has a free version.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-Players/Musicmatch-Jukebox.shtml

The last version that I would use is 10.000.4033. Yahoo screwed it up once they got hold of it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Just Joey]

I used MusicMatch for years but about a year ago I switched to Itunes and it has worked very well for me. I like the way it organizes the songs.

 

[LarryM]

I don't care for many of the mass marketed programs for mp3's. When they try to make a "one size fits all program", it usually ends up being too convoluted.

I don't buy any of my music through download services because I use my music for home use as well as the player, so I don't want to be stuck with heavily compressed music in a specific format. I would rather buy the CD the old fashioned way and rip it. With this method, if you change your mind down the road and want to rip to another format, or use a higher quality bit rate, all you have to do it rip them again. When buying music online, you are stuck with what you get. It would be one thing if there was a big difference in price, but when I can buy used CDs off of Amazon for 2-3 bucks, why would I want to pay $1 per song for lower quality? The convenience just isn't worth it.

I have messed with a lot of rippers over the years, and the best one I have found by far is Easy CD/DA Extractor. It is very powerful yet easy to use. It will rip to virtually every format that exists today, and at any bit rate. It is also great for managing files.

For keeping track of my music, I prefer the manual method of using Windows Explorer.

The previously mentioned program Tag and Rename is a great little utility for cleaning up the ID3 tags and file names of old MP3s in your library.

 

[kwthom]

I don't care for many of the mass marketed programs for mp3's. When they try to make a "one size fits all program", it usually ends up being too convoluted.<...>

:agree:
I've never had any Apple product; I'm still old-school.

"mp3 tag tools" is what I use as a tag editor; able to manipulate and do things in batches.

"MPRG Audio Collection" is my library program, so I can find the files.

A multitude of software used for audio manipulation and editing I've used.

A good file manager program for loading onto Sansa. I've used programs like "Total Commander"

I picked up a simple trick not long ago; let's say you don't want to listed to a particular file; keeps coming up in rotation too quickly. Simply rename the file suffix, and the player can't play it.

"American Pie.mp3" becomes "American Pie.temp3"
​

Simple and easy and changeable with just a computer and cable handy.

 

[LarryM]

I picked up a simple trick not long ago; let's say you don't want to listed to a particular file; keeps coming up in rotation too quickly. Simply rename the file suffix, and the player can't play it."American Pie.mp3" becomes "American Pie.temp3"

That is what playlists are for. Even if you are the type that normally just plays everything that is on the player, playlists are still worth creating. If you create a playlist with every song and find that you are getting tired of how often one song keeps coming up, just remove it from the playlist. The file name remains intact, and the song doesn't come up any more, yet it remains available to play it if you want to. By renaming the extension, you can't play it again unless you restore the extension.

Playlists are not just for computer geeks. they are very easy to create and manage.

 

[kwthom]

<...>Playlists are not just for computer geeks. they are very easy to create and manage.

Not so easy on a Sansa, which is why I went this route. Really easy to rename all the files in a directory with a good file manager.

As always, there's more than one way to do many things. :mrgreen: