iTunes' seamless music store integration is hard to beat.

In the endless battle of the Windows-based PC vs. the Mac, at least one thing's for certain: if you're a Windows user, choosing the right audio jukebox software involves wading through a plethora of choices. Because iTunes for Mac OS X and up provides a blissfully painless experience, Mac users have it easy. Now back to the Windows faithful. Some of you may be unaware of the conundrum we're presenting here, and more power to you; after all, ignorance can sometimes be bliss, and Windows ships with Windows Media Player (WMP), an undeniably functional music jukebox. However, as you get deeper into experiencing music and other media on your PC, it will become abundantly clear that WMP can't do it all, though version 10.0 comes pretty darn close. With the surplus of contenders from which to choose, how's a Windows user to figure out which is right for them? That's where we come in.

Winamp's selection of free plug-ins (such as the cool skin above) is seemingly endless.

For this miniguide, we've evaluated seven media jukeboxes and scored them against one another for the most minute details (you can find the final score on the last page). All testing was performed with the free versions of the jukeboxes in order to keep the playing field level. After extensive comparisons, we have some good news and some bad news. First, the positive: there are viable alternatives to WMP. Unfortunately, not one of 'em satisfies all of our music or video needs. Then again, they are all free, so we can't really complain. Take a look, and decide which ones suit you best.

(A note on the final score: these scores should not be confused with the editors' ratings attached to the individual reviews. The final score represents a more detailed and opinionated comparison between each program.)


Next steps
Music compatibility chart
CNET Portable Audio front door
Top MP3 players
MP3 player buying guide