If you want your music to be loud, amplifiers are definitely part of the picture. But an amp can do much more than just get other people's attention.

One of the first steps in choosing an amplifier for your car audio system is to decide how you intend to use the amplifier, and thus how many channels it should have. This short video gives you a quick overview to help answer that question.

We describe the basics of deciding how much power an amplifier should have when you're trying to match it to your speakers or subwoofers.

If you can get the same amount of power from two different amplifiers, is there any reason to buy the higher-priced amp? What are you getting for that extra money? We'll discuss the differences in build quality and performance between lower-priced amplifiers and more-expensive options.

This short video describes some of the common features you should look for when you're shopping for an amplifier for your car audio system. Not every amplifier will have all of these features, so make sure the amp that you get has the ones you need.

Good amplifier wiring is an essential part in making your amplifier - and your music - sound its best. In this video, we describe what you can expect in a wiring kit and what else you'll need for a basic amplifier installation. We'll also tell you about how Crutchfield helps you budget your system.

Step-by-step guide to amplifier installation.

Take a look at a typical amp wiring scheme.

Where can I mount my amp? What wiring do I need to hook up my amplifier? Does any of it come with the amp? What size power and ground wires do I need for my amplifier? How much air space do I need around my amplifier? What's the biggest amp I can hook up to my car's electrical system? Plus more!

Learn about the features and technical specifications found in today's amplifiers.

Having a subwoofer in your car is a good thing, but if the subwoofer isn't properly tuned, it won't sound as good as it should. This article describes how to adjust your amplifier so that your subwoofer will sound just the way you want it to.

Now that the front door speakers were in — and we could ably demonstrate the difference between the front aftermarket and rear factory speakers...

This step-by-step guide will help you make sure that your amps and subs are evenly matched and work well together, whether you have the subwoofers and want to find the amplifier to run them, or you've already got the amp and want the right subs for it.

Zak got a chance to check out the new JBL GTO car amps at CES 2012. Chris from JBL takes us through the line and shows us that no matter what you've got planned, JBL has a GTO amp for you.

The Alpine PDX-V9 is the "do it all" version of Alpine's popular digital PDX amps. It's small, stackable with other PDX amps, and gives you 100 watts RMS x 4 for your speakers, plus 500 watts RMS x 1 to drive a sub. Serious power, with a tiny footprint.

The gain control adjusts the sensitivity of your amplifier's input so that the maximum clean output of the receiver results in maximum power output to the speakers. With the amplifier gain set right, you'll hear exciting, new details in your music that otherwise would get lost in your car.

When you add an amplifier to a system, the sound becomes higher, wider, and more realistic — like the band's playing on top of your dashboard and you're right there among the musicians.

One of our employees shares the excitement of having an amplifier in her car for the first time. We installed the Rockford Fosgate Punch P400-4 amplifier in her car, and she's more excited than ever to listen to her favorite tunes on the way home!

Like most high schoolers, Morgan didn't particularly enjoy getting stuck driving the family minivan. And a minivan isn't a vehicle you'd normally think of to put in a rockin' aftermarket sound system. Now, it sounds better than a new car's stereo and she has a place to plug in her iPhone, too.

An interactive flowchart to help you diagnose and cure the most common noise problems found in car stereo systems.