Digital Envisions

ITunes is one of the most used digital media players. However, this does not mean it is perfect. You could do worse with ITunes. But you could also do better. There are multiple options available that make iTunes feel like a kid’s toy. Read on, and find the best alternatives to iTunes and the cheapest online music stores.

Here are the bad features of iTunes:

- When you rate a song from 1 to 5 stars, the rating are not saved to the tracks directly, meaning your metadata is vunerable.

- Rented music from Rhapsody, Napster or Zune are not compatible with iTunes.

- It can only synchronize with iPods, not other Portable Media Players (PMPs).

- It takes a comparatively long time to start up and it consumes a lot of system resources.

Despite the baffling features of iTunes, many other developers have created great alternatives to iTunes. My picks are WinAmp, Windows Media Player, Song Bird, and, my favorite, MediaMonkey.

A major priority of all digital media players, is how your metadata is saved. Make sure it is saved to track files and not just use your program’s library file. MediaMonkey and Windows Media Player offer a secure way to save your metadata. Metadata will be back-uped to track files. ITunes creates a file for your metadata instead. That means even if you backup your music collection, if your computer’s disk goes bad, or it is stolen, then you will lose all of the ratings you have applied to your tracks, unless you also backup the iTunes library file. If you use iTunes frequently, be sensitive to your library information and back up the metadata folder.

iTunes also has the most popular online music store. Let us probe the weak point of iTunes’ online music store:

- It’s excessively pricey. Almost all other digital media stores are far cheaper than iTunes.

- ITunes’ music selections are unavailable in MP3 form. Instead, ITunes only sells M4a files.

If you want a track, you are forced to buy it.

- ITunes has no option for “renting” music.

- Additionally, ITunes will not let you stream music.

I would recommend stores that sell DRM-free MP3s and/or rented tracks including eMusic, Amazon MP3, Napster, Rhapsody and Zune. Almost of all these stores are more wallet-friendly than iTunes!

To conclude, I would suggest these alternatives to iTunes. For a my favorite media player, check out MediaMonkey (http://mediamonkey.com). For more better music stores, try eMusic, Amazon MP3, Napster, Rhapsody or Zune.

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