Archived from ListenSmart.com, November 3, 2003. Historical; not current advice. Software, prices and links are as they were then.
Source: Wayback Machine capture.
All-In-One Software
RealJukebox Windows 95/98/NT Homepage | Download
RealJukebox is piece of audio software that lets you listen to your CDs as you convert them to MP3 (or RealAudio) format. RealJukebox not only gets artist and title information from the online CD Database (CDDB), it also can automatically group songs by album, artist, and genre as it saves them to your disk. Thus allowing very easy management of your digital music collection. It has the ability to play a very broad range of digital music, including CDs, RealAudio, MP3, Liquid Audio, A2B, and other universal music formats. Additionally, RealJukebox features helper wizards and tips to guide you through common activities such as playlist creation, music sorting functions, and support for skins.
RealJukebox Plus Windows 95/98/NT Homepage | Download
RealJukebox Plus is an enhanced version of the popular RealJukebox. For $29.99, it offers several upgraded features such as the ability to record and playback at CD quality -- up to 320 kbps, a 10-band graphic equalizer, and superior new music management capabilities.
SIREN Jukebox Windows 95/98/NT Homepage | Download
Siren is a comprehensive digital music management system that facilitates locating and downloading digital music from the Internet, recording music from CD collections, and managing the music in multiple playlist arrangements. Created by Sonic Foundry ™, Siren also allows for the effortless transfer of music to portable digital players and traditional CD players. Utilizing the powerful code base of Sonic Foundry's audio CD recording product, CD Architect™ , Siren provides assistance in creating custom compilations of favorite hits and allows you to *burn them to CDs from within the application.
* CD burner required for this feature
MusicMatch Jukebox Windows 95/98/NT Homepage | Download
MusicMatch Jukebox is another extremely versatile player, ripper, and digital audio manager. Its notable features include a very easy to use playlist editor, a music library function with CDDB support, and the ability to record from multiple input devices. It's ripper records at a rate 5x faster than the normal play rate, allowing you rip through your CD collection in minimal time. Also, when available, MusicMatch Jukebox's viewing window displays artists cover art, song lyrics, and other artist info.
HyCD Play&Record Windows 95/98/NT $59.95 Homepage | Download
HyCD Play&Record is an integrated software system that, in a addition to playing digital audio files, features CD ripping capabilities, an MP3 encoder/decoder, an audio resampler, an audio effects processor, and a CD recorder. Its easy-to-use interface allows you to perform CD audio extraction and MP3 encoding via a simple right-click menu. Additionally, using HyCD's effects module, you can edit your WAV files by adding echo, reverb, and distortion modulations.
CDH Media Wizard Windows 95/98/NT Homepage | Download
CDH Media Wizard lives up to its name in that it allows you to play many forms of media. Its list of supported file types includes Audio/Video CD, MP3, MP2, Vivo Digital Video, RealAudio, RealVideo, Windows Video (AVI), MPEG Video, Apple QuickTime, Standard Windows Audio, MIDI, AIFF, AU, SND, among others. Conveniently, it gives you the option to convert WAV to mp3, mp3 to WAV, CD tracks to mp3, and CD tracks to WAV. Feel free to give Media Wizard a test drive using its 20-day (fully functional) free trial.
WPlay Windows 95/98/NT Homepage |
WPlay is another high quality MP3 and CD player that includes a multi-language interface. Support for Winamp skins and an advanced playlist and texture system are among the popular features of this product. It is based on the XAudio decoding engine, thus ensuring its quality decoding and ripping. Current status: $10 Shareware.