AIMP is the best audio player we’ve tested in a long time. It’s beautifully designed and has tons of features that make it the perfect choice as your default player.

With AIMP you can organize your MP3 files in a library, edit tags if necessary and enjoy them in excellent audio quality. AIMP works with other popular formats as well, including karaoke files and several playlist formats.

AIMP offers all the standard playback functions you find in other similar apps: an 18-band equalizer, visualization effects, a separate window to view your current playlist, fading effect between songs, a normalizing filter to avoid sudden volume changes and support for global hotkeys.

But there’s more to AIMP than just that. The program also plays online streaming radio stations, includes a complete tag editor and can be set to repeat a certain part of the song – which comes in handy when you’re trying to decipher the lyrics!

The interface in AIMP is both attractive and intuitive. All functions and buttons are clearly laid out, and the design can be easily tweaked with skins.

We tried hard to find any, but there are really no cons about AIMP. It’s an awesome audio player you just have to try.

If you’re still searching for the perfect music player, AIMP may be the answer.

Download AIMP 3.20.1165 in Softonic

Features

KMPlayer has a small desktop footprint and its minimalist interface makes video playback quick and hassle-free. The player's interface is fully skinable, and there are some nice aesthetic touches, such as the changing of colour on the player with every new track.

There are all sorts of options to help you pimp and customize KMPlayer, such as visualizations, plug-ins and playback options. But the beauty of KMPlayer is that these are turned on at your request rather than being forced upon you at the outset.

Quality

KMPlayer handles both audio and video, and supports a wide range of different formats, meaning that once installed, you should never need to touch another player.

Video playback is particularly impressive thanks to the range of processing tools available that allow you to sharpen, change picture properties, apply filters and even make video captures from within the program.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a customizable, light yet powerful video player, KMPlayer is exactly what you need.

What's new

Supports 3D Formats. (Side-By-Side, Top-and-Bottom) to (Anaglyph, Interlaced)
Supports 10-bit H.264. (Libcodec.dll)
Supports Intel Widi
Added video codec "DV5P"
Add new function album art (Thumnail image extraction from FLAC file)
Thumbnail image display enhancement when playing audio files. (MP3, FLAC, WMA)
Fixed ColorSpace bug
Fixed Intel Codec H.264
Fixed Winamp plugin
Error correction of images infected with malicious codes. (EIP register Corruption Vulnerability. Provided: KISA)
Fixed view as a desktop mode in Windows 7
Fixed improper load of Album Art bug
Correction of screen display error when using EVR(C/A) - if you skip from the WMV file.
Fixed KMP HTTP Reader
AAC codec Parser error correction from MOV file
MKV Skip Problem

Download KMPlayer 3.6.0.87 in Softonic

Features

Version 2 ("Twoflower") brings a new interface, faster decoding, support for more formats and the ability to play HD and BluRay. It still remains however the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today. While other media players will play unusual formats after downloading a codec, or simply refuse to play things,

VLC media player handles tons of formats, from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files. Version 2 has seen some important additions too such as support for 10 bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM.

Also useful is the fact that you can use VLC media player to preview files you are downloading since it plays incomplete parts of video files. VLC media player is not just for video playback however. It also offers superb integration with video channel streaming services such as Channels.com giving you access to channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic. Just right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com.

Channels.com will then appear in your VLC media player playlist. Click on it to reveal the the different categories of channels available. Click on the category you want and a drop down list of all available channels appears in VLC media player. Just click on the channel you want to watch and streaming should begin almost immediately.

Usability

VLC media player also has great hotkey support and if you take the time to learn the shortcuts so it can be controlled without touching your mouse. If you're watching DVDs or video files through it, this is not an issue. For music, it plays more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation. VLC media player isn't as intuitive as iTunes as a media manager, but it's a much more flexible player in terms of file formats. You can even use VLC to convert your files, and on top of all the formats and physical media it will play, many streaming protocols and TV capture cards are supported.

VLC media player makes it easy to add subtitles to your video files too - just add the SRT file to the folder where your video is kept, and it will automatically play with subtitles.

Finally, the interface in VLC media player has been somewhat improved in version 2 although it remains strictly functional. However, you can download skins to completely change VLC media player's appearance. The preferences menu is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and there is extensive documentation online.

Conclusion

VLC Media Player is quite simply the best multimedia application for Windows and Mac. It plays just about anything, hassle free - what more could you need?

What's new

Rework and fixes of the Mac OS X interface

Fix Pulseaudio initial synchronization

Fix MKV, SWF, AIFF and subtitles demuxer crashes

Translations updates and new Welsh translation

DVB-S delivery system detection

Fix audio and video track selection through libVLC

Fix system sleep issue on Mac OS X 10.5

Download VLC media player 2.0.6 in Softonic

With Sharepod you can easily copy music from the computer to your iPod and viceversa. The program works like a charm: simply plug the iPod in, launch Sharepod and you’re good to go. It doesn’t even require installation! Besides adding or removing music, you can also copy videos from your iPod to the PC, back up photos, and edit tags. Sharepod also imports and exports album art, ratings and playlists.

The interface in Sharepod features a simple, clean design that makes the program a pleasure to use. It supports drag-and-drop, includes a search tool and also has a built-in player to listen to the music on your iPod.

On the downside, and though the developer claims Sharepod works with iPhone and iPod Touch, we couldn’t use all of the program’s features when testing with an iPhone 4.

Sharepod is a great iPod manager that lets you transfer content between Apple’s star device and your computer.

Download Sharepod 3.9.9 in Softonic

Most of us who own an MP3 player or play digital music on a computer will admit that it’s possible to get a little precious over your audio collection. There’s something very satisfying about having a hoard of music with the correct track and album names for each song. Not only does it look a lot cleaner in your player, but it makes it a darn sight easier to organize your collection and manage playlists. Ensuring that all the tags in your audio files are correct can be a thankless task, but there’s plenty of software around that will make a much quicker job of it.

mp3Tag is one of the better tag editors around, allowing you to edit the metadata (the information about a track’s name, size, album name, artwork, etc.) with a good degree of autonomy. The app lets you rename files based on this tag information, replace characters or words from tags and filenames, import/export tag information, and create playlists. It carries out its dutiesdoes the job very well too. For instance, the program has a much cleaner interface than many of its rivals and is smaller to boot, making it very quick and responsive.

If you find that you have a lot of different audio formats on your machine that you want to keep in check then mp3Tag is perfect. It supports virtually every major audio file type, so you can edit tags for Ogg, Musepack, and AAC/MP4, besides just MP3s. tThe program isn't just a tagger, as it also includes cutting and joining functions that perform pretty well.

Perhaps the biggest boon though is the inclusion of a link-up with the online FreeDB database to import tags from the appropriate album, spelling a swift end to those MP3 albums you get with track names like ‘track01’, ‘track02’, ‘track03’, etc.) While the data returned from the FreeDB is sometimes erroneous, it’s generally pretty good (though probably not quite as quick as the import tool in Tag&Rename).

It’s fair to say that mp3Tag is one of the clear leaders in its field, and considering it’s a freeware app, it’s well worth downloading if you want to clean- up your music collection. Tag editing is very quick and once you’ve given your audio the mp3Tag treatment, you should find it so much easier to organize your tracks.

Download mp3Tag 2.54 in Softonic

With JetAudio you can:
- enjoy your favorite music and videos
- add awesome visualization effects to your music
- customize the player's appearance with a great selection of skins

The main purpose of JetAudio is obviously playing audio and video files. The program includes elements with which you can improve playback and make it more enjoyable, such as sound effects, cross-fading between songs and support for lyrics.

JetAudio Extra features
Besides the basic functionality, the program also features a bunch of extra tools that enable you to rip CDs, record sound, convert music files from one format to another, listen to online radio stations and burn your favorite MP3 to CD.

You can also run JetAudio as an extra bar that sits on the Windows taskbar and control its main functions from there without interrupting your work.

JetAudio is a complete, handy media player for anyone that would like to do more than just play audio and video files.

Download JetAudio Basic 8.0.17 in Softonic

When it comes to audio players, most people choose between the three or four most popular apps: iTunes, Winamp, VLC, AIMP Player… but there are many other interesting choices like Songbird.

Songbird is an open-source music player and organizer with which you can manage, play and discover music. It's free, cross-platform, highly customizable thanks to a wide variety of plug-ins and can be improved and extended by the contribution of its user community.

The first thing you'll notice about Songbird is its resemblance to the iTunes interface, which means that if you've ever used iTunes you won't have any problem in learning how to use Songbird. Then, as you explore the program's menus and options, you'll start discovering all the goodies it has to offer.

Songbird automatically imports your music files from a selected folder, monitors that folder for future music additions, organizes your music in a handy, easily browsable catalog, is compatible with iTunes and Last.fm libraries, can be controlled from any other app thanks to global hotkeys and also supports Last.fm scrobbling. It also includes album art and a simple equalizer.

Songbird is such a complete tool that's hard to find negative sides to it. Plus there's an army of developers constantly working on improvements and new features. The only thing I missed so far, in fact, is support for podcasts – which I'm sure will probably be added some time soon.

Songbird is a complete, full-featured music player and organizer with support for plug-ins and an extensive user community.

Download Songbird 2.2.0.2453 in Softonic

Songbird Portable is an open-source music player and organizer with which you can manage, play and discover music. It's free, cross-platform, highly customizable thanks to a wide variety of plug-ins and can be improved and extended by the contribution of its user community.

The first thing you'll notice about Songbird Portable is its resemblance to the iTunes interface, which means that if you've ever used iTunes you won't have any problem in learning how to use Songbird. Then, as you explore the program's menus and options, you'll start discovering all the goodies it has to offer.

Songbird Portable automatically imports your music files from a selected folder, monitors that folder for future music additions, organizes your music in a handy, easily browsable catalog, is compatible with iTunes and Last.fm libraries, can be controlled from any other app thanks to global hotkeys and also supports Last.fm scrobbling. It also includes album art and a simple equalizer.

Songbird Portable is such a complete tool that's hard to find negative sides to it. Plus there's an army of developers constantly working on improvements and new features. The only thing I missed so far, in fact, is support for podcasts – which I'm sure will probably be added some time soon.

Songbird Portable is a complete, full-featured music player and organizer with support for plug-ins and an extensive user community.

Download Songbird Portable 2.2.0 in Softonic

MediaMonkey automatically scans your PC for all types of music formats. If you have playlists from other programs, it’s good to know that MediaMonkey also adds m3u files, sparing you the pain of having to recreate them. The file explorer view on the left lets you easily navigate your music collection by categories like artist, genre or rating. You can convert tracks in MediaMonkey into any format you wish, depending on what size or quality of sound you’re looking for. MediaMonkey also lets you analyze and adjust the volume of tracks to increase your listening experience.

MediaMonkey has made its reputation on its advanced tagging management feature. Every time a track is added, the program will verify its tags. You can automatically fill in missing details with info from Amazon or Filename. The program can clean up your tags, move information into the correct categories and synchronize tags for selected tracks. You can also rename and move multiple files thanks to the auto-organize function. MediaMonkey also supports Winamp plugins and visualizations plus skins can be applied to spice up the interface.

If you want to make your own mix CDs, you’ll be happy to know that MediaMonkey rips and burns CDs and DVDs. Create a virtual CD of your favorite tracks and let MediaMonkey do its job. Budding DJs will enjoy the auto-DJ mode, which mixes tracks for you and the Party Mode, which blocks your configuration but lets anybody play their favorite tune. MediaMonkey’s versatility doesn’t stop there. The music manager also lets you synchronize with your portable music devices like your iPod or iRiver.

If you feel like completing your library with a couple of fresh albums you can browse sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble or AllPosters and purchase tracks. However, unlike Songbird, where you can type in a URL, browse and save your favorite music blogs and sites, MediaMonkey only allows you to browse their selection of online stores.

We were disappointed with the web radio selection, which only features Shoutcast and Icecast, and were surprised to see no sign of podcasts anywhere in the application. However version 3.0 is planning on incorporating this to the application.

Despite these drawbacks, we recommend MediaMonkey to anybody looking for a solid alternative to iTunes or Winamp. This original music manager is more than capable of organizing a very large music library and offers advanced tagging management rarely seen in other music applications. While the browser and web radio are fairly limited, MediaMonkey allows you to rip your custom CDs and connects to most portable music devices. If you really take a liking to MediaMonkey, cough up a few bucks and upgrade to the Gold version, which will open up all of the program’s functionalities like finding missing tracks or creating auto (smart) playlists.

Download MediaMonkey Free 4.0.7.1511 in Softonic

Monkey’s Audio is a lossless audio compressor which aims to reduce the size of audio files as much as possible without losing any sound quality. The program uses its own file format, .ape, which is known to have a better compression rate than the lossless FLAC format, but files tend to be larger than lossy compression formats like MP3 or AAC.

We recommend using Monkey’s Audio to compress audio CDs to your PC. Your songs will not lose their quality but will take up less space than if they were uncompressed. What’s more, Monkey’s Audio handles tag support, keeping all your file information, like artist name, track numbers and playing time.

Monkey’s Audio can decompress files back to their original type without losing any quality and the program features an option to verify the MD5 checksum of compressed files. Compressed .ape files can play in any of the major media players and the program can also install a plug-in to compress audio files directly from Winamp.

Monkey’s Audio is a great solution if you’re worried about losing any quality when compressing audio files. However, because it only compresses to .ape, you’re pretty much stuck with playing your converted files on your PC. To enjoy them on your mobile music player you’ll have to use another program, like dbpowerAMP Music Converter or Switch Free, to convert your audio files to MP3 or AAC, which remain the most widely supported audio formats.

Download Monkey's Audio 4.10 in Softonic

Overview

Singing your favorite songs aloud is one of those little pleasures in life, especially when nobody's around to see you. But you obviously need to know the lyrics to the song you're trying to belt out. Fortunately, this is something you can easily find with MiniLyrics.

How it works

MiniLyrics is a plug-in that includes one of the most impressive lyrics database most users will ever encounter, even if they're compulsive MP3 collectors.

It launches simultaneously with almost any music player you can imagine, including iTunes, Winamp and Windows Media Player. Then, just click on the Play button and the program will automatically look for lyrics, based on the information provided by the song file's tags.

Features

During tests, MiniLyrics found the lyrics to every single track played, including English, Spanish, German, Italian and even Japanese songs. Also, in the few occasions MiniLyrics didn't find the proper lyrics, they were able to be downloaded and displayed in less than 30 seconds. The program can even save lyrics in mp3 files and let you view them on the iPod Touch or iPhone.

On the downside, MiniLyrics displays a nag window every time you launch it and another registration reminder on top of each lyrics file. That's a price most music fanatics will likely be willing to pay however.

MiniLyrics is an awesome plug-in for music lovers who want to know just exactly what their favorite musicians are singing about.

Download MiniLyrics 7.4.18 in Softonic

In the world of software sometimes simple is better, and SPlayer is a good example of it.

SPlayer is a really lightweight audio and video player that joins the media player category ready to compete against big shots such as Winamp, AIMP, BS.Player and iTunes with its most outstanding features: simplicity of use and economy of system resources.

SPlayer lets you enjoy your favorite music and movies on the computer. It supports an almost endless list of formats, including DVD and streaming media, and features a minimalist interface - almost too minimalist! - that doesn’t interfere with whatever you're playing.

But that's not all: SPlayer also includes some interesting extra characteristics, like support for subtitles, audio and video equalizer, a screenshot tool to capture individual frames and three types of interface – minimal, compact and standard.

In short, SPlayer may not be as full-featured as the other apps I mentioned at the beginning, but it's undoubtedly an excellent choice for those who value efficiency and simplicity.

SPlayer is a lightweight media player with simple design that supports a great variety of formats and includes surprisingly powerful features.

Download SPlayer 3.7.2437 in Softonic

All the formats and features you might need

BS.Player is a great media player that features anything you need to watch movies or any other kind of video on your PC. BS.Player supports all popular video formats (and audio as well, in case you were wondering) and though its basic interface is not really the nicest one I've seen, you can easily customize it with skins. Also, if you're missing any video or audio codecs, BS.Player will download them right away during installation.

BS.Player supports video subtitles, takes screenshots of movie currently playing, lets you create bookmarks and chapters to move along videos more easily and has also support for plug-ins, making it very similar to apps like UMPlayer.

Shortcuts

I especially liked the way you can control playback, either by using keyboard shortcuts or simply your mouse: one click to stop the video, two clicks to go full screen, mouse wheel to raise or lower the volume... It's really comfortable.

Reliable and easy to use

BS.Player is reliable and full of features. The only drawback if any, is the fact that the program doesn't include any documentation except for a FAQ section that you need to open in your browser. Not that you can't use BS.Player without help, but it's always nice to have some documentation to rely on in case you get stuck.

Overall

BS.Player lets you enjoy your favorite movies on the PC with a wide range of features: subtitles, screenshots, bookmarks and more.

Download BS.Player Free 2.64 in Softonic

Weeny Free Audio Recorder has a well-designed interface and it's very simple to use. Weeny Free Audio Recorder is 100% free to download, install and use, no extra fee.

Weeny Free Audio Recorder is an audio recording software meant for users who want to capture audio from sound card, CD player, microphone or line-in device on computer.

Download Weeny Free Audio Recorder 1.2 in Softonic

You can now remote control your PC using your iPhone, and manage your task over the wireless network. After installing the server program, you can install the apps on your iPhone. Please view our youtube demo.

Wifi Remote Server for iPhone user. User can remote control PC. On your PC, install the server program. On your iPhone, install the remote app.

Download WiFi Remote Server for iPhone (Windows) 1.1.0.1 in Softonic

If you're tired of dealing with all the big name audio players like iTunes, Audacious might just be a good option to try out.

One of the nice things about Audacious is that it's quite lightweight, meaning it won't steal your computer's resources from other tasks. It has a convenient drag and drop feature for folder and song organization, as well as an easy to use search feature. Just like with iTunes, you can also create and edit your own custom playlists.

If you're more concerned about the sound of your music listening experience, Audacious lets you tweak sound settings. You can also alter Audacious' appearance with Winamp classic skins, with which it's compatible. Additional plugins will let you do anything from fetching song lyrics to setting a timed alarm to wake up to.

Audacious doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it's a good alternative for those who don't want to deal with iTunes' additional features that are unnecessary to actually listening to their music library.

With an easy to navigate interface, Audacious is a nice, no-frills audio player for Windows PCs.

Download Audacious 3.3.1 in Softonic

It's difficult to define a program like Muso. It's not a music player, nor is it a playlist manager. Instead, it can be viewed more as an alternative way to manage and organize your music collection.

First, import your music into Muso. Users can do this by either selecting individual files or folders on their hard drive or else by selecting their iTunes or Winamp library. This will ultimately allow you to manage your collection in a far more flexible way.

Muso lets you browse complete albums or individual songs, and also sort or filter music by artist, year, rating and more. There's also an advanced tagging system many users will appreciate. Muso not only has the ability to group albums under the same artists, despite any spelling differences, it also offers support for mood tags. Also included is album artwork and artist information downloaded from Last.fm, Wikipedia and Amazon.

Note that Muso itself is not a music player, although it can be linked to third party players like iTunes and Winamp. This in may be a downside for many users who won't like the idea of needing to use two programs to enjoy their music collection. There's also no real social features that would allow users to connect with other friends using Muso.

Overall, Muso works great as an alternative interface to browse and sort your music collection, if you're willing to use a third party player to actually listen to songs.

Download Muso 1.4.28 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 over 20,000 skins and loads of plug-ins.

When Winamp 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 Winamp's 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.

Winamp 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.

Winamp may have been around for ever, but it hasn't been left behind and is a fully featured music player that's really customizable. A good alternative to iTunes.

Download Winamp 5.63 Full in Softonic

Subsonic includes just about anything you need to turn your home computer into a fully-featured media streaming server. While some missing codecs might need to be installed at initial start-up, Subsonic is relatively simple to get started with.

As an admin user with Subsonic, you'll be able to configure every single detail about your server, such as folders to be included in the media menu, user accounts and security settings, to name a few. As a common user, you have also plenty of features available, from downloading music files to rating songs - all depending on the permissions given by the admin. The whole process is done via the web, while the streamed media can be played with an array of media players including Winamp, Windows Media Player and iTunes. You can even make Last.fm register what you're listening to in Subsonic.

On the downside, and despite the simplicity of the program, users still might encounter problems performing certain tasks, especially in playlist management.

With a tool like Subsonic - and some spare time to configure it properly - you'll be able to turn your standard home PC into a professional media streaming server.

Download Subsonic 4.6 in Softonic

Mezzmo is easy to set up and use. Mezzmo automatically finds and organizes all your music, movies and photos on your computer. Import music, movies, photos and playlists from your iPhone, iPod, Audio CDs, iTunes, Windows Media Player and WinAmp.

Mezzmo transcodes music, movies and photos on-the-fly so they play perfectly on your DLNA-enabled device. Multi-threaded technology and support for the latest Dual Core, Quad Core or higher PC systems gives you fast transcoding and super-fast streaming.

Media format support includes all popular video file formats, music file formats and image file formats. You can even connect and stream to multiple devices at the same time!

Install Mezzmo onto your PC today and start streaming music, movies and photos to all your DLNA-enabled devices in your home!

Download Mezzmo 2.6.1.0 in Softonic