The PC Jukebox

True to its name, this program transforms your PC into a full-fledged, attractive jukebox. After installation, the application will import your tunes from a specified folder. At this stage, The PC Jukebox automatically attempts to download album-cover art from the Web. Once you launch the main interface, you'll be glad to see a professional-looking design that mimics the appearance of commercial jukeboxes you would find in a bar or restaurant. You can browse your collection by artist, album, or genre, though in our tests the latter option didn't work consistently. Adding songs, albums, or playlists to your queue is a snap, and the program provides a search tool for quickly ferreting out specific tunes. A nine-band equalizer lets you tweak the sound to your liking, and the skin-creation tool helps personalize the application's look if you don't like the default scheme. The ability to cross-fade tunes will be handy at parties, and the option that locks all buttons ensures wayward guests can't monkey with your mix. Although this program can play video files, it's still primarily designed to deal with audio. We'd urge all music lovers to give The PC Jukebox a try.