If you're looking for not only a media player but also a recorder aswell, then JetAudio basic is a super solid solution that's packed with features.

It's secret lies in the ability to not only reproduce formats but convert them and even record audio and video. You can convert among all the major audio file formats and convert analog audio to various formats. There are also several visualization features including Sound2Vision tag editing for MP3, OGG, and WMA files plus you can add basic sound effects including wide, reverb, and x-bass. It would have been nice to have had a few more sound effects here but it's not really big on graphic equaliser effects. You can control the speed of audio playback and also perform cross-fading between two songs which is useful if you want to use it as a party and turn yourself into your own DJ. There a re a few skins to change - there should be more - and karaoke fans are not left behind either as there is an options to used synchronised lyrics with kareoke audio files. You can even search for lyrics via "Leo's Lyric Database" although the number of songs is very limited and sometimes the lyrics aren't correct anyway.

A very useful all round player for anyone that would like to do more than just playback their audio files.

Download JetAudio Basic 7.1.0 in Softonic

Winamp was born as a very basic media player and has slowly but consistently improving for many years. Its main purpose was to be completely customizable and through the years, many people have contributed to a library that now consists of 20,000 skins and 461 plug-ins.

When version 5 was released, Nullsoft redeemed themselves in the public's eyes after producing a much improved player to replace Winamp 3. They didn't need much encouragement as they justified skipping version number 4 by saying that it was such a huge improvement that it deserved to be called 5!

Luckily they are justified in their opinion, as Winamp offers everything you might want in a media player. Using the skins, you can set it to look like the original or the current default which looks great and puts you in control of all your media quickly and easily. I particularly like the minimized player that consists of a small bar that you can place on the edge of your screen. Of course, if neither of these agree with your taste you can download and try any of the thousands others available on the Winamp website.

The player supports a wide range of file formats, and because the program is small and simple, it works quickly on almost all computers. Have a look through the available plug-ins and you will also find that you can hook up your iPod and manage its music library.

Download Winamp 5.541 Full in Softonic

AIMP Classic is a powerful audio player that allows you to listen to your favorite music with an outstanding sound quality. Its appearance resembles that of another classical audio player (Winamp), so you'll get used to it very quickly. It can also be customized with skins.

The program includes a 18-band equalizer, a visualization window to display rhythmic visual effects and a playlist editor to organize your audio files. A nice fading effect makes your list of songs look like an endless music loop and a handy volume normalizing feature avoids drastic volume changes between tracks. Also, the player's main functions can be conveniently controlled by global hotkeys.

Besides playing music, AIMP Classic features three extra utilities which also enable you to record any sound on your computer, convert audio files from one format to another and view or edit tags.

AIMP Classic is based on the well-known audio engine BASS, so it's easy to connect new plug-ins (from the plug-in library included in the program) and expand the player's functionalities.

Download AIMP Classic 2.11 in Softonic

Esmas Player is a truly multimedia application that provides the user with almost any tool they may need to enjoy image, music and video files on the computer.

The program's interface is suspiciously similar to that of iTunes, which makes us wonder why is it that developers weren't able to come up with a more original design. Similarities to iTunes don't end here, though: as you'll see, you can organize your library, play your favorite songs, edit tags, listen to podcasts, synchronize contents with your portable music device and even buy music online. Some people may find this resemblance somewhat uncomfortable – like a cheap imitation – but it's also a way to make the program look familiar and be easy to use from the very beginning.

Leaving comparisons aside, Esmas Player goes a step forward and also enables you to organize photos and videos, and also features extended functionality such as a disc burner, a DVD player and support for online TV channels and radio stations. During our tests, however, I had the impression that some of its functions were not properly implemented or at least not as easy to use as I expected. Also, though the program's language can be set to English, both the installer and documentation haven't been translated from Spanish yet.

In all, Esmas Player works fine as an all-in-one multimedia organizer, but it still needs some improvements in usability – as well as adding the necessary distance between iTunes and itself in order to avoid odious comparisons.

Download Esmas Player 11026 in Softonic

If AIMP is your favourite media player but you prefer the appearance of Windows Media Player, then you're in luck because with this skin, you can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Simply unpack the installation file and double click - AIMP will automatically open it as your new skin.

You can select from 6 colours - red, orange, blue, violet, green and aqua-marine.

Download AIMP WMP-11 Light Skin 1.2 in Softonic

The Nero Media Player program enables you to play back audio tracks. The program supports the most current formats, including MP3, WAV, AAC, to name but a few. Nero Media Player also enables you to play back Internet streams, and to create and play back playlists.

• Create playlists from your audio CDs, MP3, HE-AAC, WMA, WAV, and MIDI files, and from Internet radio stations
• Rip audio tracks to MP3, HE-AAC, WMA, and WAV
• Add digital track-labeling to your audio CDs
• Make your own sonic profiles with the graphic equalizer
• The very latest Fraunhofer MP3 audio-encoding technology
• Standard bit rates from 96 to 320KB/s
• Winamp DSP plug-in support

Download Nero Media Player 1.4.0.35 in Softonic

If being a DJ is the dream of your life but you haven't been hired in any club yet, you can also practice a bit at home.

Your computer and Ots CD Scratch 1200 is everything you need to improve your DJ abilities and make sure you get the job next time you ask for a gig. This free app lets you play and mix two tracks from a CD at the same time and apply a range of sound effects and filters to them, all from an interface that resembles a real DJ mixing deck. Ots CD Scratch 1200 only works with CDs, so if you want to mix MP3 you'll have to look somewhere else.

Though the program doesn't really include that many filters, it does make up for it with an incredible scratching effect you can apply right onto the CD track by grabbing the records depicted on the interface and moving them with your mouse. It's really an easy, cool effect that really makes you feel like a DJ, even if what you're scratching is a digital track with your mouse – and not an old vinyl record with your fingers.

Ots CD Scratch 1200 is the perfect tool for all those DJ wannabes that like mixing music but don't dare work in a club yet.

Download Ots CD Scratch 1200 1.00.044 in Softonic

vanBasco's Karaoke Player is a freeware product that plays Karaoke (.kar) and standard MIDI (.mid, .midi, .rmi) files.

Features include:

• Fully customizable Karaoke window: change font, colors, number of lines (up to four), background image.
• Lyrics can be displayed in a resizable window or full-screen.
• Control window: ability to change tempo, volume, key of song.
• Real-time MIDI output window: shows notes, volumes, and instruments, can mute or play solo individual instruments.
• Piano view: displays notes on a big piano keyboard.
• Integration with Microsoft Internet Explorer (optional).
• Easy-to-use graphical user-interface with support for skins and multiple languages.
• Complete install & uninstall support makes setup of software straightforward.

Download vanBasco Karaoke Player 2.53 in Softonic

According to some happy users, Spider Player is so good that it could even rival Winamp in the popularity stakes for basic players one day. It's certainly a very good looking player and not only that, it makes life easy where listening to music is concerned.

The look is obviously a key part for the developers and they've even included a "tuning" bar in the skin which allows you to change the tone of it according to the mood you are in. As with Winamp, I like the fact that you can also divide-up the player as you like. For example, when you open it, the main playback window, equaliser and playlist are all joined together. But you can split these up as you like and place them in various parts of your desktop for easy access. To control playback, you can simply drag and drop the status bar and it responds very quickly. There's also a pitchshifter, echo and reverb bar to play with.

One nice added little extra us that Spider Player also has a built-in ID3 tag editor and CD ripper that can burn in MP3, WAV, OGG and WMA formats. Once minimised, the player also sits neatly in your system tray so it's well integrated into your OS. This is one of the best Mp3 players I've tried outside of Winamp although it lacks the plugins of the former.

Download Spider Player 2.3.5 in Softonic

Let’s begin with a very simple question: why should we surrender to the most downloaded software when there are good but not so popular alternatives? Robert Frost said: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by” which, applied to software, may be translated as “take a risk and use new apps... even if they’re not that famous”. So, if you’re looking for a free, fast, simple MP3 player, and don’t feel like bowing down to Winamp the Almighty, just give XMplay a chance.

The first thing I liked about XMplay is the fact that you don’t need to install it on your system. Just unzip it to whatever folder you like (for example Program Files/XMplay), and you may start enjoying your music right away. The range of file formats supported by XMplay is reasonably wide, including Internet streaming, CD tracks and playlists. Surprisingly, it does not work with video, a feature that other “alternative” players such as KMPlayer do include.

Bearing in mind the large amount of MP3 players available, comparisons are hard to avoid. XMplay does its job and it does it well, without using too many system resources. The interface offers two possible sizes and can be customized with nice skins, a popular feature with users. But what I really loved is the fact that you can control almost every function in the program by means of shortcuts, which turns out to be very handy if like me, you listen to music whilst working with the computer. No need to maximize the program’s window, look for the appropriate Pause button and click on it every time somebody talks to me: one simple shortcut gets the job done.

But hey, it’s an MP3 player we’re talking about here so, what about the sound quality? In fact, this may be XMplay’s major weakness, as those with a good ear will notice it doesn’t sound as good as other players I have tested so far, particularly Winamp or ALSong. It’s just one weak point, but quite an important one when talking about a program that is intended to play music. Besides, and while this may be precisely its main function, XMplay lacks some extra tasty options that we find in other players, such as the built-in audio converter featured in Spider Player, the Lyrics Viewer included in ALSong or the impressive skins offered by Xion Audio Player.

Summing up, although XMplay will not be able to compete against the “big ones” in the MP3 player market, it’s still a very nice, free application, as long as you don’t ask for high-fidelity sound quality.

Download XMPlay 3.4.2 in Softonic

ICoolPlayer is more than just a music player. It also includes an audio converter, CD ripper, audio CD recorder, sound recorder, radio and even an online editor for karaoke lyrics.

It is compatible with the most popular music formats, and its futuristic interface makes it attractive and accessible. However, this sis till very much a project in the development stages and so expect to experience bugs and unexpected crashes. The iCoolPlayer's library of media and online radio channels are all organized into one easy to use and manage interface. But the most unique aspect of this media player is the ability to create lyrics for karaoke, tailoring each sentence at the exact moment of the song while you listen and then reproducing the whole thing complete with audio and lyrics in iCoolPlayer. This is a great little tool because although there are hundreds of karaoke sites out there with ready made files and lyrics, invariably your favourite songs are never included. Using this software, I was able to sing Mr Boombastic by Shaggy simply by copying and pasting the words from a lyrics site.

A great little player with excellent karaoke function let down by the fact that it often crashes because it's still being developed.

Download iCoolPlayer 1.0.1.0 in Softonic

Winamp Lite is a small version of Winamp, it weighs less than one megabyte, that will essentially let you play audio files and use classic skins and plug-ins. Great to fit onto your desktop and if you don't to use up to much hard drive space. However, if you want to enjoy the complete benefits of Winamp, you should install the Full version instead.

Download Winamp 5.541 Lite in Softonic

KaraFun is a free karaoke software for PC Windows. Both a karaoke player and an editor, KaraFun offers a complete solution for playing and creating your karaoke at home. Complete and fun, it plays nearly every karaoke file format: KFN, KAR, CDG, KOK, LRC... User-friendly, the KaraFun editor enables you to create, quickly and easily, your own karaoke songs from Audio and MIDI music files : MP3, OGG, KAR, MID.

Using a powerful 3D animation engine for animated lyrics and background, your karaoke party in full screen has every chance of being a success! Beatles fan, American Idol candidate, Fame Academy students, or amateur talent contest winners, KaraFun is made for you!

Download KaraFun 1.18 in Softonic

Make and Play Karaoke on your computer. Rip & Burn CD+G Karaoke CDs.

DART DeVocal

Suppress the Main Vocal from Stereo Recordings

DART Karaoke Author

Import, edit and synchronize lyrics to the music you hear. Customize the graphics with the CD+G track generator

DART Karaoke Wizard

The onscreen guide will assist you step by step to custom Karaoke songs

Sing-along and record your performance. Play CD+G tracks with full audio and graphics.

Download DART Karaoke Studio 1.4.9 in Softonic

Stop what you're doing, find shelter and call your mom, because Quintessential Player 4.50 has arrived. This new version brings you closer to your music then ever before. Stop letting your media player push you around, take control with Quintessential's new and improved arsenal of features.

QCD is still all about you. With its new extended freeform skinning engine and plethora of feature extending plugins Quintessential Player can be whatever you want it to be. Most importantly you can take control of your listening experience for free. How is this possible you ask? It just is. Don't let the price fool you, there are no Pro versions, cripples, nags or spyware. Quintessential is here to be enjoyed without any catches.

Rip CDs or convert music into your favourite format

Insert your favourite music cd into your computer and click the record button to start ripping! You can also use the encoder to convert files to other digital formats. Select the files you want to convert and drag them into the encoder window or click the convert button on the playlist.

Keep your music files clean with the track editor

The track editor allows you to edit single tracks or groups of tracks at the same time. It will also rename your physical files, import filename to use in tag and if your tags are still incomplete you can use the autotag feature which is powered by Gracenote CDDB.

More control with Skin Layouts

If you like certain configurations of Quintessential Player, now you can save them and call on them whenever you please! Place the player anywhere on your screen with the desired extensions open and click ‘Save Current Layout’.

Play the track you want with a click of the mouse

With Quintessential player's Quick Track feature you have your entire playlist at your fingers tips. Place your mouse over the track name or over the icon in the windows tray and right click to reveal your playlist. This feature is heavily customizable so you can get at the music you want with no delay!

Organize the songs you'll hear with the Playlist Editor

One of the most powerful features in Quintessential player is the Playlist. Quickly organize what you want to hear by dragging, blocking, pruning or adding tracks to your playlists. Right clicking tracks on the playlist opens up more options to help you to organize your collection. Simply tell Quintessential Player where your playlists are stored and have your entire collection at hand.

Save your desktop space when using the Remote

Get all the power of Quintessential Player but with 1/10th the desktop space. Using the new skinning engine the remote can stretch revealing as much information as you want to see.

Download Quintessential Player 4.51 in Softonic

ALSong is a Live Song Lyrics MP3 player with everything you expect in a modern MP3 player, as well as some extras that make ALSong more than just "yet another mp3 player".

Live Song Lyrics let you listen to your favorite tunes and read the lyrics in time to the music.

Find Music Fast in the ALSong Playlist. More than just a list, you can easily organize music inside your playlist, on disk, in special albums, in ZIP files, and in virtual folders. You can quickly browse and search your music your way because everything is setup to make playing your music as easy and fast as it should be.

Create Music Albums to organize your music or easily take with you. ALSong albums have a special customizable interface for you to decorate your favorite music with images and pictures however you like. And since ALSong music albums are portable, you can take them with you on any USB key or other portable storage.

Download ALSong 1.53 in Softonic

Few can dispute the fact that Apple created a flawless product when it built the iPod. However, the company did omit to include one feature that still bothers me. The legally-aware developer made it so that you couldn't copy tunes from your iPod onto another computer. OK, so it means everything is above board, but it also means that if you get a new computer or your hard drive fails, you have to build up your MP3 collection all over again. Luckily, there are now several programs available that let you copy your iPod tunes to any machine, and CopyTrans is a good example of one of these.

The process of synchronising your music with CopyTrans is a simple one and you can choose to archive your collection or import it into a new iTunes library. All you need to do is connect your iPod, wait for the program to scan the device, choose your transfer settings then wait for CopyTrans to work its magic.

It does take quite a long time to copy across the music, but the operation works very well and I experienced no problems other than that it didn't reproduce all of the album art I had. The program boasts some nice features such as selective transfers, incremental back-ups, and repair to damaged iPod databases.

If you're scared of losing all your iPod data then install CopyTrans and erase your worries with ease.

Download CopyTrans 2.590 in Softonic

Songbird plays the Web. Play any MP3 on the Web without leaving the page. Songbird can view Web pages as dynamic playlists that it can play, save, or automatically download every day.

Songbird plays your music too. Songbird has all the features you expect in a desktop media player. And Songbird constantly improves. Like Firefox, Songbird's features may be improved with user installed and contributed cross-platform extensions.

Soon, Web page authors will be able to publish playlists and transfer MP3s into Songbird to build digital music stores like eMusic, music subscription services like Yahoo! Music Unlimited, virtual jamming services like Ninjam, playlist sharing services like WebJay etc.

Download Songbird 0.7.0 in Softonic

A2 Media Player Pro is a powerful media player built on our dynamic fidelity sound engine, empowering natural playback of the most popular media (audio/video/image/karakoke) formats: Audio CD, MP3, OGG, WMA, WAVE, MIDI, KAR, DVD, VCD, MPEG ,AVI, SWF, BMP, JPG and PNG under Microsoft Windows.

With tons of many other stunning features, A2 can be used as an audio player, a video player, an image displayer, an image/video karaoke simulator, an electronic photo album generator, a stage performing partner, a presentation tool ... for entertainment, educational and business purposes.

Download A2 Media Player Pro 2.51 in Softonic

DeliPlayer plays all sorts of music, modules and samples with high quality, while providing a powerful but easy to use user interface. Some of DeliPlayer's features:

• MusePack
• MP3 information (ID3) editor
• ProTracker (MOD files)
• FastTrackerII (XM files)
• ScreamTracker (S3M files)
• ImpulseTracker (IT files)
• C64-SID support
• Plays DeliTracker Amiga custom modules
• Plays all Tracker formats and derivatives with high quality
• Plays 230 formats
• Extremely powerful playlist
• Archive support (ZIP/RAR/LHA/LZX)
• Scaling, oversampling and interpolating mixer routines
• 10 band equalizer
• Click removal
• Dithering
• Reverb
• Wide stereo and stereo join
• Highly configurable

Download DeliPlayer 2.03b in Softonic