Editors' review
Tune Sweeper 4 harmonizes your iTunes library and hard drive by purging entries that aren't on your disk anymore and adding unlisted songs. Duplicates and missing tracks are annoying, but fixing the issue is made easier with Tune Sweeper. It can keep your library tidy in the background, or you can stage mass purges when the issue becomes too big to ignore. Updates to version 4 include Missing Artwork, Fix Track Info, and iTunes Statistics.
Pros
Easy on the eyes: Tune Sweeper 4's tabbed interface is easy to navigate, and its minimalist style complements the look of iTunes.
Search criteria: We could search for duplicates or missing files by track data, time difference, or media types. For example, we could exclude podcasts and TV shows from searches.
Groups: We could also include or ignore all Groups listed.
Cons
Not free: Unlike iTunes, Tune Sweeper 4 is shareware, not freeware, but it's free to try with limited functionality (duplicates can't be removed).
Bottom Line
Tune Sweeper 4 isn't free, but at just under 20 bucks it might be a bargain, especially if your library is big. If you've let things go too far and now have tons of duplicates and missing songs in your ever-growing, all-important iTunes library, Tune Sweeper 4 can help you clean up the mess.
Editors' note: This is a review of the full version of Tune Sweeper 3.08. The trial version has limited functionality.
Publisher's Description
Tune Sweeper is an essential iTunes clean-up program that will find and remove duplicate tracks in your iTunes library, as well as locate and fix incorrect track info and download missing song artwork with ease. Tune Sweeper scans iTunes for duplicate tracks based on your preferred search criteria, such as matching track names, artist, and album. It will then choose one version to keep (based on your preference: Highest Quality, Last Played, Longest length etc.) and the unwanted files will be marked for removal. All you need do then is simply confirm the files you wish to keep, then all the unwanted duplicates will be quickly removed. Optionally, the music files are moved to your PC's Recycle Bin - so they can be restored should you change your mind.
Tune Sweeper can also make your iTunes using experience run a lot smoother with the ability to find and delete missing tracks in iTunes. A missing track is one of those which is listed in your library but the file is actually missing from your hard drive. With Tune Sweeper you can safely remove these tracks and avoid those 'file missing' errors when playing music or syncing your iPhone, iPod or iPad.
Additionally, the software will also quickly discover tracks on your hard drive which are not in iTunes and add them to iTunes.
Version 4 of Tune Sweeper also adds the ability to identify tracks with missing details and quickly fill in the blanks. Tune Sweeper uses advanced digital fingerprinting technology to identify your music and download the correct track information to iTunes automatically! Additionally, Tune Sweeper 4 scans your iTunes library for tracks with no album artwork and automatically downloads new artwork to iTunes.
For a bit of fun, Tune Sweeper will summarize your most listened to Artists and Genres in iTunes. You may be surprised what Tune Sweeper can tell you about your listening habits.
Tune Sweeper will make using your iTunes library experience a much more enjoyable one and will save you valuable disk space on your computer. The program is available in English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese languages. It is updated regularly to enhance the feature set and the product updates as well as friendly customer support are provided free of charge.
What's new in this version:
Version 4.01 of Tune Sweeper adds Facebook integration. You can now view and share charts summarising your musical tastes with your friends on Facebook.
