Foobar2000

Media Player Classic is a great way of stripping down your playback experience to the bare bones, but if you want more flexible audio ripping capabilities, it falls a long way short of Foobar2000.

The main interface is little more than a playlist window with controls running along the top of the window, but this application's strength doesn't lie in knick knacks and eye candy. It's Foobar's extensibility and configurability that really makes it the audiophile's player of choice.

Out of the box it will play back any format you care to mention, but if you're willing to get your hands dirty with command line options, you can add any number of different ripping and file conversion options to Foobar's standard list.

Add powerful tagging and retagging capabilities and a superbly streamlined music library view you have the ultimate lightweight player. It's the perfect complement to our final player, VLC.

Download Foobar2000 here.

Reviews:
Apple iTunes
RealPlayer Basic
Media Player Classic
Foobar2000
VLC Media Player

Author: Jonathan Bray