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Getting music to your MP3 player: What do you want to do?
Rip CDs
One of the most straightforward ways to get digital music is to "rip" all your music CDs to your computer, and then drop the files into your player. You don't have to worry about whether your MP3 player is compatible with ripped CDs, because they all are. If this is the only way you're going to be getting digital music, you can go on and choose a player based on capacity, price, style, or any other feature that appeals to you!
Download music files
If you're going to be downloading music from the Internet, as well as ripping CDs to your hard drive, your player options are wide open. Some things to consider when you choose your player:
- File formats. Which file formats does it actually play, and which ones does it merely convert? If you have a vast library of WMA files and only a few MP3s, it may get irritating to convert all those songs for use with your new player.
- Uncompressed audio files. If you'd like to store uncompressed audio files, such as WAV or AIFF, as well as compressed ones like MP3, make sure you choose a hard-drive player which can play WAV and/or AIFF files. You'll get better sound quality from those files, but they require a lot of storage space.
- Compatibility. If you want access to as much music as possible, and you don't mind jumping through some software hoops to get it, then you've got plenty of choices. That's because along with using the software that comes with your player, you can usually buy or download other software packages that will make it easy to convert most files and organize your music. (If, on the other hand, you want the download process to be as simple as possible, check out the iTunes option we discuss below.)
Effortless digital music: The iTunes solution
This all-purpose window lets you organize your library of music, and visit the iTunes Music Store with a single click. |
If you want to rip CDs and download music files, but don't want to spend a lot of time converting and organizing your music, there's a immensely popular approach available: Apple's stunningly seamless iTunes. iTunes is both a website for downloading music, and the software that lets you download, rip or organize your music. You have wonderfully intuitive control of your music collection and access to the music store from the same window. It's a great tool for music lovers without a lot of file download experience. It's compatible with Windows® PCs as well as Macs. Plus, the iTunes Music Store works closely with Audible.com to let you download audio books as well.
Apple's iPods are the only players developed to work with iTunes. These players are certainly flexible — they can play many different types of files, and they can actually be used with other download sites as well. Of course, if you're interested in a smaller player with embedded memory rather than a hard-drive iPod, the iTunes solution is not for you.
By the way, an integrated approach can also be found in Windows Media Player 10, which provides a similar one-window design for organizing and buying music. This offering is more recent and doesn't get the same kind of press that iTunes does, but it will likely grow in popularity and may well prove a solid competitor with iTunes.
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One of the most straightforward ways to get digital music is to "rip" all your music CDs to your computer, and then drop the files into your player. You don't have to worry about whether your MP3 player is compatible with ripped CDs, because they all are. If this is the only way you're going to be getting digital music, you can go on and choose a player based on capacity, price, style, or any other feature that appeals to you!
