The best Windows apps for your new PC.
Music jukeboxes
MediaMonkey Standard
- CNET editors' rating: 5.0 stars
Despite a glut of free player/encoders, it's tough to find one that meets our expectations--something that performs the functions of iTunes with more customization and better stability. MediaMonkey has proven itself with excellent library-management tools that keep even the largest digital-music collections well organized. Stir that up with integrated CD and DVD burning, a stellar interface, a full-featured encoder, and the ability to sync with portable MP3 players, and you have a compelling product.
To paraphrase Pulp Fiction, it's the little extras that make MediaMonkey great. Auto-Rename and Auto-Tag features keep untagged tracks from falling through the cracks. Party mode locks down your library while still allowing song requests. Auto DJ plays songs even when there are no requests in the queue, and the all-important iPod and portable device synchronization works well, allowing you to identify track locations on the device--that's more than iTunes does. Third-party plug-ins are available for tinkering, and the interface is reasonably modular and customizable.
For $20, MediaMonkey Gold adds advanced features, such as sleep timer, scripting, previewing, and on-the-fly file conversion when syncing with a portable device, but the free version is exceptional at what it does.
Apple iTunes
- CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars
iTunes is hardly the most graceful jukebox for Windows, but despite the persistent bloat problems, occasional stability issues, and a static interface, it's hard to ignore what Apple's jukebox can do. Version 8 offers the Genius sidebar and Genius playlist. The former makes recommendations based on what other iTunes listeners like, and the second is a "smart" playlist where you choose a song, and then it fills out the rest of the playlist using the same algorithm as the sidebar. Both require an iTunes Store account.
Old popular favorites include enhanced video abilities, ringtone editing for the iPhone, new ways to view your library, iPod integration, smart playlists, CD burning, label printing, the ability to rip files in multiple formats (except WMA), and network sharing. The narrow left-nav and spreadsheet-style have been much-copied, though that's probably more because of ease than affinity. However, it's hard to argue that the Album, Cover Flow, and new Grid view options, which let you flip through CDs and movies visually, aren't appealing. The built-in video player accommodates both your own files and ones bought at the iTunes Store. Right-clicking a clip lets you render it iPod- and iPhone-compatible. Whether purchasing songs and movies from the iTunes Store, or buying iPhone apps from the App Store, the workflow for both is similar.
Rounding out the feature set are parental controls and a smart-shuffle option. The podcast-catching is functional, but isn't as advanced as in other players. Although iTunes on the Mac is excellent, we think that Windows users should consider it only after looking at what else is out there.
