5 Ways to Enjoy Your Music Files

OK, say you've got one thousand of your favorite MP3 songs sitting in your hard disk. What's the best way to enjoy those files? Most of us probably will use the Windows Media Player to listen to those files. but did you know there are other more innovative and interesting ways playback MP3, WMA and WAV files?

Let's take a look at the five methods.

Use MusicMatch Jukebox

If you think most that most PC programs for playing digital music look like the built-in Windows Media Player, think again. There are programs out there that go far beyond the Windows Media Player in functionality. One great example is Musicmatch Jukebox from Musicmatch. Musicmatch Jukebox is quite simply the world's best digital music player. It supports playback of various music formats like audio CDs, MP3s, Internet streams, WMAs, WAV files and more. You also get CD burning, music ripping and music organizing capabilities. The Plus version even allows you to automatically tag your music files with detailed info and album art!

Use a Portable MP3 Player

Portable music players like the Apple iPod, Creative Nomad and Rio Nitrus have taken the market by storm. You don't have to be confined to your desktop PC or laptop to listen to digital music! The portable music players can allow you to take your music anywhere. The compact size of MP3 and WMA music formats means that you can literally take a jukebox of thousands of songs whereever you go! You may also want to check out my review of the top 5 portable music players here. There are also other portable music options, including handphones with MP3 support.

Use a PDA

The latest Pocket PC or Palm-based personal digital assistants (PDAs) can also act as music players. Pop in a large memory card (e.g. 64 MB) and you can store many MP3 or WMA files. Then hook up a headphone, launch the music software in the PDA and you're good to go! I personally own a HP iPaq 2210 which effectively keeps track of my appointments and doubles up as a music player.

Use Your Car Stereo

This is my favorite way of listening to my MP3 collection. I recently bought a car stereo that can playback native MP3 songs. This means that I can pop in a data CD containing hundreds of MP3 files and the car stereo will play them! This does not work on conventional car stereos. If you own a conventional car stereo, but still want to listen to your MP3 songs, one way is to create an audio CD from your music files first. The car stereo will then have no problem interpreting and playing back the audio CD. Of course, in this case, you'll be limited to about 14 to 17 tracks of music only.

Use Your Home Stereo

If you're a music lover, you probably already have a home stereo. Use it to listen to your MP3 music files! However, take note that Like car stereos, conventional home stereos will not be able to play back native MP3 songs. You will need a newer home stereo set with MP3 playback capability. New models from Kenwood, Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony usually have MP3 support.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways to enjoy that digital music collection of yours. My favorite methods of listening to digital audio files is via a portable music player or the car stereo. Of course, you may have your own preference - some people like to listen to music off their desktop PC or laptop. Decide which method(s) is suitable for you and go for it!

About The Author

Gary Hendricks - http://digital-music-guide.com

gary_hendricks@digital-music-guide.com

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Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.,  gestures as he speaks during  an election-night party Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Atlanta. Chambliss defeated Democrat Jim Martin in a run off. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)AP - Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.



Gujarat state police inspector Subhash Raval, center, inspects the documents and identity cards of fishermen at a coast in Porbander, 412 kilometers (255 miles) west of Ahmadabad, India, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Security has been beefed up in coastal towns and ports in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat state after terrorists are suspected to have used the Porbandar port to reach Mumbai. The Indian navy is investigating whether a trawler found drifting off the coast of Mumbai, with a bound corpse on board, was used to ferry militants to the 60-hour rampage through India's financial capital by suspected Islamic militants that killed 172 people and rocked the nation. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)AP - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. Gates said that U.S. and British citizens were the targets of the violent siege in Mumbai, although most of those killed in the city, the nation's financial capital, were Indians. He also said Tuesday that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, had gone to the region to meet with officials.  (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled a willingness Tuesday to forge ahead with two key priorities for the incoming Obama administration: accelerating the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.



Trader David O'Day works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, federal auditors said Tuesday in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.



In this handout photo provided by the Tracy Police Department, the booking mug for Michael Schumacher, 34, is shown. Schumacher, and wife Kelly Layne Lau, 30, were arrested late Monday, charged with torture and other counts after a bruised, terrified 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, claiming he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Tracy Police Department)AP - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.



Chart compares the percentage of military service members getting divorced this year and last; 1 c x 2 7/8 in; 46.5 mm x 73.025 mmAP - The divorce rate among soldiers and Marines increased last year as military marriages suffered continuing stress from America's two ongoing wars. There were an estimated 10,200 failed marriages in the active duty Army and 3,077 among Marines, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press for the budget year ended Sept. 30.



U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, archivist Ira Pemstein listens online to the newly released tape recordings from the Nixon White House, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif. Documents shed new light on just how much the government struggled with growing public unrest over the protracted war in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)AP - In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty inside the administration and trouble from political opponents who had to be discredited at any cost.



AP - An independent report on American higher education flunks all but one state when it comes to affordability — an embarrassing verdict that is unlikely to improve as the economy contracts.

Actress Beyonce Knowles attends the premiere of 'Cadillac Records' in New York on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.  (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)AP - Beyonce is the first artist lined up for next year's Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.



Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger, left, puts up a shot in front of Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic (10), of Serbia, during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. The Pacers won 118-117. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)AP - Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to complete an improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.



U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves to media as she arrives at Palam technical airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday in Washington's effort to ease tensions in the region after a three-day terrorist attack that left 171 people dead in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, center, and his wife Jeannie Mulford are also seen in the picture. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)Reuters - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of urgent U.S. efforts to ease tension between India and Pakistan that has surged over the Mumbai attacks.



A foreign currency dealer stands in front of a screen displaying the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Korean won at the Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul November 24, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - South Korea moved on Wednesday to help local banks through a cash crunch gripping the global financial system as central banks around the world were expected to cut interest rates again to support their fast flagging economies.



New trucks are displayed for sale at a Ford dealership in Encinitas, California in this November 11, 2008 file photo. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Reuters - A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they needed an immediate infusion of cash to avoid failures.



President-elect Barack Obama meets with governors during a bipartisan meeting with members of the National Governors Association at Congress Hall in Independence Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 2, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama moved swiftly toward wrapping up his cabinet appointments on Wednesday with the selection of rival-turned-supporter Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce.



Incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss (C) smiles after hugging his grandson John Baker and his mother Emma Chambliss after he had been told he was ahead in the run-off at his election night party in Atlanta, Georgia December 2, 2008. Chambliss won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, CNN said, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat 'super majority' in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)Reuters - Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss easily won a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, denying Democrats the chance for a 60-seat "super majority" in the Senate that would have enabled them to pass legislation virtually at will.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates points during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington December 2, 2008. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will stay on under Barack Obama, said on Tuesday he supported the president-elect's Iraq policy but declined to back his proposed timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.



Senator Hillary Clinton along with daughter Chelsea (L) and husband former President Bill Clinton (C) speaks to supporters at her North Carolina and Indiana primary election night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 6, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - New York Gov. David Paterson has famous names to choose from in picking a replacement for Sen. Hillary Clinton, including a Kennedy, a Cuomo and even another Clinton, as in the former president of the United States.



France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner holds a news conference during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at Alliance headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2008. (Yves Herman/Reuters)Reuters - NATO agreed on Tuesday to gradually resume contacts with Russia suspended after Moscow's intervention in Georgia, and put off a decision on putting Ukraine and Georgia on formal membership tracks.



An anti-government protester waits for transport as demonstrators prepare to leave the Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok on December 3. Hundreds of anti-government protesters have packed up and left Bangkok's airports after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.(AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam)AFP - Hundreds of anti-government protesters packed up and left Bangkok's airports on Wednesday after a crippling siege, as authorities assured angry tourists that flights would resume within 24 hours.



Indians rest on the sea front promenade outside the Oberoi Trident hotel in Mumbai. Pakistan offered Tuesday to work hand-in-hand with India to track down those responsible for the Mumbai attacks but declined to respond immediately to a demand that it hand over 20 terrorist suspects.(AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)AFP - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi Wednesday to try and ease India-Pakistan tensions over the Mumbai attacks, as US intelligence blamed a Pakistan-based militant group.




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