Music Player for Windows 10

[magpens]

I know this "conversation" topic is a long way from the usual, here.

I am a music lover - mainly classical - and I want to transfer some of my CD collection to my computer ( Windows 10 ) so that I can create and use playlists, with which I can collect my favorites and discard the others. . I like to have music playing continuously, all hours of the day and night

I am finding Windows Media Player ( WMP ) rather inadequate; it seems to be somewhat random in the way it handles things, and that frustrates me.
Also included in the Windows 10 software supplied with this computer ( purchased a couple of years ago ) is an alternative software package for music management. . It is named "Groove", but I am wary of using it because it is also a Microsoft package.

In my experience with this Win10 computer, the music management seems to switch randomly between WMP and Groove, which I find annoying.

So, I am wondering if anybody has a suggestion for a music management package. . Any comments you can provide would also be appreciated.
Of course, I would prefer a freebee software package, but would be open to any and all suggestions.
Please bear in mind that I am not a computer expert. . I regard computers mainly as a necessary "evil" - LOL !!!

Thanks for any input on this topic.

 

[Mortalis]

I've always used Windows Media Player. See link below for instructions to rip music from cd.

How to Rip CDs in Windows 10 - dummies

In a process known as ripping, Windows Media Player in Windows 10 can copy your CDs to your PC as MP3 files, the industry standard for digital music. But until

www.dummies.com

I've tried VLC and found it a bit tinny (too much high end). The other options included in Windows 10 are not my choice(s) for playing music. Of course the sound you get to hear is more dependent on the speakers you use not so much the software playing the music.
My computer sound system is Bose Companion 5.

 

[sorcerertd]

Mal, my first thought is VLC. It's free, it's been around a long time and will play almost any media. As for the previous comment, there is an equalizer you can use to tweak the sound to your taste. Obviously, good speakers are necessary for good quality sound no matter what you use.

 

[magpens]

@Mortalis @sorcerertd

Thanks for your comments . . . what is VLC ?

Using Windows Media Player .....
I have no problem ripping CDs . . . but the resulting files sometimes get stored in unexpected places under unexpected folder names.
Sometimes the ripped music files get automatically stored to unexpected folders ( probably with names taken off the CD itself ).
Sometimes the music files are stored under previously created folders in an apparently "random" way.

Some problem(s) seem to relate to the creation of playlists and the overall organization within the "Music" folder under Win10.
Sometimes the ripped music files get automatically stored to unexpected folders ( probably with names taken off the CD itself ).

Sometimes the "Playlist" for a CD gets created automatically . . sometimes not.
Sometimes the "Playlist" gets combined with previous playlists . . again automatically . . sometimes not.
When that happens, the resulting playlist becomes very long . . . sometimes 4 CDs combined into just 1 playlist. . . Puzzling.

I can usually go through the process of creating a Playlist manually, but that is not always successful either.
Sometimes the on-screen prompts don't seem to do what they appear to be intended to do.



I should add that I am NOT concerned, at this point, with the quality of sound played back from my computer.
I am not relying on the inbuilt speaker(s). . . I have a set of external Altec Lansing speakers plugged into the speaker output socket (green).



Another occurrence that may be relevant . . . .
When I plug in a CD, Windows Media Player starts up automatically.
There are two WMP display options. . . One is referred to as the "Playing Now" display and contains only the barest of info.

You can switch to the other display, which I think is referred to as the "Library" display, and that contains much more info about the CD.

The "Library" display allows you to see the full contents of the CD on the left side of the screen.
On the right side of the screen, there is another "pane" as it's called in some of the online documentation.
I am not sure what that other "pane" is called . . . let me call it simply the "Other Pane"

The "thing" that troubles me about the "Other Pane" is SOMETIMES it appears to contain a full playlist for the CD . . but SOMETIMES NOT.
That SOMETIMES playlist contains a list of all song titles on your CD . . but SOMETIMES it contains only the FIRST song title on the CD.
In a horizontal bar at the top of the "Other Pane" are two significant things: "Save List" (inactive usually) and "Clear List".
Sometimes the "Other Pane" contains the instruction (paraphrased by me) "Drag and drop your songs here to create a playlist".

At those times when the "Other Pane" contains a complete list of song titles, the "Save List" is usually inactive so you cannot click on that.
It would be nice if you COULD click on "Save List", and the work would be almost totally complete !
But . . . ALAS . . . that is too much to hope for !

But ... usually ... you are left in "limbo" . . . thinking that you have an actual "playlist" when you really don't.

That's a brief description of one of the frustrating occurrences I have experienced when trying to use Windows Media Player.

 

[sorcerertd]

VLC: Official site - Free multimedia solutions for all OS! - VideoLAN

www.videolan.org

VLC media player

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

 

[magpens]

@sorcerertd

Thanks for enlightening me on VLC !! . . . I will investigate and probably install it.

 

[randyrls]

I use JRiver Media Center. It is easy. I just put a CD in the player. It looks up the album and tracks on the Grace Note database and offers to name the tracks for you.

 

[guitarchitect]

If you want something more fully-featured for playlists etc, Jriver will do a lot more than just give you files to play (which I find is what VLC does, despite enjoying it myself). Personally I use a combination of Spotify and Plex, the latter can do all of your media and you can stream it to anywhere you can install the app (phone, tablet, web browser, etc). I use plex for all of my other media so it's simpler for me to just use it, rather than another platform. If you have a computer on your home network that is "always on" it's pretty great, and it's fairly straightforward to set up. using my phone i can cast the audio to anywhere in the house that i have speakers (i use a mix of google chromecasts and speakers), much like you can do with Spotify. basically plex is there for my historical CD collection, and Spotify is for listening to new music and discovering new stuff!

 

[magpens]

@randyrls

Thanks for your comment . . . what is the "Grace Note database" ? . . is that an online resource with data about all known CDs on the market ?

 

[randyrls]

Mal; Yes; It contains almost every cd or dvd ever made. If you find an album that isn't in their database, you can enter album information and track names and send it to Grace Note with a few mouse clicks.

 

[magpens]

**********

I have added more info on my experiences with Windows Media Player by editing my #4 post above (long one)
for anybody that is interested.

**********

 

[sorcerertd]

I have added more info

Ha, plenty more. I have heard good things about jriver even before Randy mentioned it here, but pretty much forgot about it until now. Do you plan to stream or "broadcast" music elsewhere in your house from the computer? What works best will depend, at least partially, on whether you want to use it all over the house or just on the computer.

 

[magpens]

Ha, plenty more. I have heard good things about jriver even before Randy mentioned it here, but pretty much forgot about it until now. Do you plan to stream or "broadcast" music elsewhere in your house from the computer? What works best will depend, at least partially, on whether you want to use it all over the house or just on the computer.

@sorcerertd

Todd, all I want to do is have my music organized on my computer so that I can FIND and PLAY whatever I want, whenever.
I will not be streaming or "broadcasting" to any computer, phone, or other device. . The source of sound will be this computer only.

 

[Mortalis]

Mal,
All of the above suggestions are viable alternatives but will require some fiddling with them to get them to do what you want them to do.
If you'd like I can help you manage Windows Media Player with a few screen shots.

I have used Plex and for my purposes it was way too complicated for me to enjoy using. I'm not saying it doesnt do great things but I just found it needed unnecessary setup to get it to work right. Plex is great if you going to be creating and using it for a Media Center to store and play a warehouse of video and music to broadcast to your TV or throughout the house.

Pandora for the normal lay person is ok but again, if all you want to do is select the music YOU want then it can be cumbersome and sometimes frustrating. Also, it will force advertisements within your 'playlist' if you do not get a monthly subscription. I have to admit, I did not know and thus have not used Pandora as a player only. Rather as a computer/handheld device using self or suggested playlists radio.

I've not used jRiver so I cannot comment on it.

 

[rherrell]

There's another music player that is installed in Windows 10 called Groove Music. Type "Groove Music" in your computers search box if you don't see it in your programs menu. I use it to play music on my shop computer and I like it a lot. I put my whole collection into one playlist and select the "Random" button, it plays all day without repeating a song.

What Is Groove Music and How to Use It - Make Tech Easier

Need an easy to use music player on Windows 10? Learn what Groove Music is, how to use it, and how it compares to Windows Media Player.

www.maketecheasier.com

 

[lorbay]

I know this "conversation" topic is a long way from the usual, here.

I am a music lover - mainly classical - and I want to transfer some of my CD collection to my computer ( Windows 10 ) so that I can create and use playlists, with which I can collect my favorites and discard the others. . I like to have music playing continuously, all hours of the day and night

I am finding Windows Media Player ( WMP ) rather inadequate; it seems to be somewhat random in the way it handles things, and that frustrates me.
Also included in the Windows 10 software supplied with this computer ( purchased a couple of years ago ) is an alternative software package for music management. . It is named "Groove", but I am wary of using it because it is also a Microsoft package.

In my experience with this Win10 computer, the music management seems to switch randomly between WMP and Groove, which I find annoying.

So, I am wondering if anybody has a suggestion for a music management package. . Any comments you can provide would also be appreciated.
Of course, I would prefer a freebee software package, but would be open to any and all suggestions.
Please bear in mind that I am not a computer expert. . I regard computers mainly as a necessary "evil" - LOL !!!

Thanks for any input on this topic.

One system that's not mentioned here is iTunes. That seems to be where all my music has gone to. I HATE IT.
Does anyone else find iTunes really awkward to use.
Lin

 

[magpens]

One system that's not mentioned here is iTunes. That seems to be where all my music has gone to. I HATE IT.
Does anyone else find iTunes really awkward to use.
Lin

@lorbay

I want to say thanks for this comment, Lin, but saying thanks for an "I HATE IT" seems hardly appropriate in some ways.

Perhaps it's OK to commiserate, though, and I certainly can repeat that with regard to Microsoft's Windows Media Player (WMP).
I have been struggling with it for a solid week and am now at the point of abandoning further attempts to use it.

The problems seem compounded for me, it seems, by Microsoft's inclusion of their alternative, named "Groove", also included with the version of Win10 on my computer. . Having both WMP and Groove, it seems that they conspire to thwart my efforts to comprehend what is going on by their presenting, randomly, first one set of screen images and then the other set, prompting me to say "I HATE THEM BOTH".

I say that hesitantly, following the praise of Groove by "rherrell" in his post above . . but I've said it now, and I'll stick to what I said.

I just "don't get it" how such obnoxious software gets bundled with a world-renowned computer Operating System, namely Win10.

I do appreciate the suggestions for Music Management Software by others above.

I felt inclined to try VLC . . but I am hesitant after seeing a Google hit entitled "How to Uninstall VLC" . . Hardly an encouragement !!!

 

[Mortalis]

I Hate iTunes!

 

[sorcerertd]

Ditto on hating iTunes. I forget why I used it as I never had an iphone (or any Apple product, nothing against them in general), but I never liked it much and have not looked at it in many years. Sounds like it hasn't improved?

Mal, I even use VLC on my android phone, though it's use there is to keep audio going on youtube videos while my phone screen is off. But try a few and uninstall those you don't like. You have a lot of choices with not needing multi-device integration.

Maybe there will be something better in the free Windows 11 upgrade? I won't hold my breath. Also will wait a little while to see if it works well for others before upgrading, maybe let them work the initial bugs out.

 

[sorcerertd]

I haven't kept up with any newer media players because I usually listen on my phone through headphones. I used to do a lot more with computers, beta testing new versions of windows and tweaking all sorts of programs. I still build my own computers, but have gotten away from the software side. Got tired of sitting at a computer all day and all night. Besides, now I have a lathe. Who has time for computers? One thing I will always take the time to tweak on any device is the sound settings (especially on the car stereo)

Since you piqued my curiosity though, I've been looking around a bit and there are some interesting offerings out there for free. VLC still makes all the lists I checked, but I think if I were to try a new one, my first test might be VOX. It's in beta, but sounds very promising with a hi-definition audio driver and a nice clean interface. My next test would be MusicBee, them AIMP after that. If you try them out, come on back and let us know what you think.

I found the information on this site useful. It is geared toward musicians. I can't vouch for any of the info, but here it is anyway. https://www.musicianwave.com/the-12-best-music-players-for-windows-10/

 

[magpens]

@sorcerertd

Thanks for your suggestions, Todd, and for your continued interest. . I will let you know what transpires.

Thanks to all who replied to this thread !!

 

[magpens]

@sorcerertd

Todd, after what you last wrote, I went looking for VOX .

Seems that they don't have anything online yet . . . at least nothing that I could see to "inspect".

So I am wondering why you indicated it would be your first choice . . . . . why is that ? . . . based on what ?

 

[sorcerertd]

@sorcerertd

Todd, after what you last wrote, I went looking for VOX .

Seems that they don't have anything online yet . . . at least nothing that I could see to "inspect".

So I am wondering why you indicated it would be your first choice . . . . . why is that ? . . . based on what ?

I based my preference on this paragraph on the linked page (and a hunch).
"One of the features that make this music player stand out is its sophisticated audio processing driver. It promises to deliver hi-res audio for a clean music-listening experience. Additionally, the user interface is quite intuitive and minimalistic. You can locate anything you want in less than a sec."
Maybe I'd like it, maybe not, but that made it sound appealing to me and I'd be interested in checking it out. Not to say it is better than the others, but that just got my attention. You do have to give them your email address for access. I don't expect much from the speakers in this laptop, but I'll give it a go. Here is the link: https://vox.rocks/windows-music-player

** EDIT: "We will contact you on the release day." Well, I guess I will wait.

 

[magpens]

@sorcerertd

Thanks for that addition, Todd . . . I also gave in my email address. . I guess we'll both hear more when VOX is released !!

 

[cjester]

I've been using MusicBee for years, it's been the best I've tried and I kept coming back to it so I finally settled on it. https://www.getmusicbee.com/

The others that have come close are Media Monkey https://www.mediamonkey.com/ and Foobar2000 https://www.foobar2000.org/

Foobar2000 in particular is highly customizable. I suspect I'd like it best if I were to ever devote the time to figuring out the customization.

 

[magpens]

@cjester

Thanks for your interesting comments, Carl. . . I have come close to downloading Media Monkey.

But now 2 members in the above remarks have mentioned MusicBee, and I am thinking that might be the one for me !

I just want something fairly basic . . . don't need to broadcast to other devices . . . don't need to incorporate lots of artist details . . .

Just need to rip and create playlists, basically . . . and organize the playlists in an easily accessible way . . . just like organizing existing folders and files . . . that's all I expect.

The only ones I have tried are Windows Media Player, and Groove (also from Microsoft), and I've been totally turned off by those.
They seem to "get in the way" of what I want to accomplish.

 

[cjester]

OK, the VOX thing is weird. "Everything starts with an original music track that was obtained directly from the studio of from a CD that is not altered afterward in any way. This is the pure, original WAV of AIFF file, fresh from the source and ready for distribution." What? I understand all those words, but not in that order.

They have a graphic of FLAC 96k vs MP3 44k. I understand the illustration, but the difference isn't due the sample rate, it's inherent in the file format. They also offer a download of a sample FLAC file which is 44k.

Nyquist tells us that 44k is all we need. The short version of Nyquist is that human hearing goes from 20hz to 20khz. We need to know the peak and the valley for each wave form - so the sample rate has to be double the max frequency or roughly 40k. Add in a couple margins to account for a few things and the result is CDs are recorded at 44.1k. If they're really ripping from CDs, 96k can't sound any better than 44k. Given that their sample file is 44k, I expect that's what they're really using.

MusicBee supports FLAC, I'm using it. I may have installed a plugin for FLAC - I don't remember anymore, but it's certainly available. I think FLAC support is pretty widespread now. I'd expect most major audio players to support it, either natively or through an easy to find plugin.

 

[magpens]

@cjester

I see that you are an IT, so ... altho' that's not the same as a "digital musicologist" ... you would understand all that stuff better than me, having only postgraduate physics as my claim, and that was over 50 yrs ago.

When you talk about Nyquist, are you referring to the sampling criterion ? ( twice the max. included frequency ? )

I'm gonna hafta find out what FLAC is . . . . back in a while, perhaps, or maybe tomorrow.

For starters, I read ....
"FLAC is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference software package that includes a codec implementation."

Duh ????

 

[cjester]

I also do audio production as a hobby. I have too many hobbies and spend too little time on each, although they all kind of merge after a while.

Yes, Nyquist refers to the sampling rate - as you say, twice the max included frequency.

FLAC is just another file format, similar to MP3 or WAV. WAV is lossless, but large. MP3 throws away small details to save space. FLAC is lossless like WAV, but more space efficient.

The VOX site makes a big fuss over FLAC like it's something new and special, when it's really been around for a long time and is well supported.

If you're listening to MP3s now and they sound fine to you, then just enjoy them and don't worry about different formats.

 

[magpens]

If you're listening to MP3s now and they sound fine to you, then just enjoy them and don't worry about different formats.

@cjester

Frankly, I don't know what I am listening to now !! . . . . .

Mainly, I listen to the CD on an old ghetto blaster that one of my kids left behind some 25 years ago leaving home. . What format is on CD ?
But of course, listening to the original CD is not what I really want to do . . so we proceed to rip, then deal with files on the cmptr.

So . . . . more recently, after ripping the CD, I play those files on my computer . . What format is a ripped CD track ?

I don't have any problem ripping the CD and poking around to find where WMP has stuffed the ripped files (often an unexpected folder) .
And I can play those.
But . . . . . I then try to create a playlist & the trouble begins. . . click on "Create playlist" and get so far as to save a name for the playlist.
Get the message . . . Drag items from the left pane to the "Play pane" . . . at that point WMP claims ignorance of what to do and zippo happens.

When the software fails to respond to my doing what it told me to do, I get very frustrated/angry . . . and give up.

Sometimes . . for no apparent reason . . creating a usable playlist works . . and I am left wondering why !!! . . more frustration/anger.
But the euphoria does not last and soon it's back to . . . "give up".

The "Microsoft Demons" often come to play at that stage and present on screen images . . sometimes from WMP, sometimes from Groove.

More frustration/anger . . . accompanied by the "give up" syndrome again.

But so far I am still here . . . no thanks to Microsoft !!

 

[cjester]

The audio CD is its own thing, but it isn't really a file. Think of an audio CD as a digital record with a laser stylus. It is encoded as two tracks of 16 bit audio at 44.1k.

If you've ripped CDs to your computer and not specified the format, then it almost certainly used MP3. That's been the default for most players for years. Most people either don't hear or aren't bothered the tiny amount of degradation inherent in the format, and it's significantly smaller.

If you can find your ripped files, the format will be the file extension. They're probably in the "Music" folder in your home directory.

 

[penicillin]

My example is not much help on the Windows music player question and won't help @magpens very much.

I grew up in a home that had classical music playing all day long. My parents turned on the radio in the morning, off at bedtime. Radios in the house and cars were always tuned to the Classical station. According to my parents, nothing else could be called "music." For a break on Sunday mornings, they put a stack of vinyl records and play Broadway musical soundtracks on the record player all morning. Like it or not, I got a free classical music education from it all.

I prefer to listen to whole CDs start to finish. In the shop, I bring the physical CDs out from the house and play them on a lousy boombox. There is a frequent rotation of fresh CDs between house and shop, and we have a large CD collection. The boombox has a radio and a Bluetooth capability, but I never use them. I never have my cellphone with me in the shop, and rarely in my office - I dislike the constant interruptions.

In my office, the CDs have been "ripped" to my Mac, and I use iTunes to listen to them while working. I have no issues with the iTunes user experience on my Mac, but the way I use it is so simple and limited.

 

[magpens]

In my office, the CDs have been "ripped" to my Mac, and I use iTunes to listen to them while working. I have no issues with the iTunes user experience on my Mac, but the way I use it is so simple and limited.

Penicillin . . . . You are MY kind of music "aficionado" !!!!

I also like to "keep it simple" . . . . and I like to stay in control . . . . not being overtaken by the software !!!!

But I often feel the need to "engineer" my own playlist and not play the entire CD . . . and I like to combine selections from several CDs.

I like to create a music sequence that suits my most common "mood" . . . so that is why I need "friendly but not authoritarian" software !!!!

The software I have tried to-date seems to want to take too much control, to the point where "things" get out of hand and confusing.