Why Do I Want Jukebox Software?

There are many software products that will play MP3s and other digital music files. If you’re ready to do more than just listen however, you may be interested in jukebox software. These programs can bring your music collection to life and turn your PC into a mad, music-playing machine that rivals the jukebox in your local bar or restaurant. Jukebox software will help you create playlists, display cover art or other visual effects and more. On this site you will find articles related to Jukeboxes as well as reviews of jukebox software to help you make an informed deision on which product is right for you. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™

What Should I Look for in Jukebox Software?

Collectors of digital music have almost as many different needs as they do tastes in music. With that in mind we have established these criteria to evaluate digital jukebox programs. The best programs do more than just play music; they also create a realistic jukebox experience that entertains both the ears and the eyes. They also help bring order to large collections of music files and they’re simple and fun to interact with.

Features
The most basic feature of a jukebox program is the playback of music files. Some programs also have the ability to edit the music to either enhance the sound during playback or to add special effects. Jukebox programs typically enable users to locate particular tracks in even the largest of collections. Playlists are another standard for jukebox software. Most can create and manage playlists so that users can create a group of songs to play in succession based on such things as artist, album, genre, etc. Many of these programs attempt to create a visual experience to simulate a “bar-style” jukebox, displaying images of the CD/album cover or animated visualizations during playback. There are a number of advanced features available with some programs as well, such as the ability to burn/rip CDs, support for video, lyric display and even support for touchscreens. These programs were evaluated on all of these factors, with consideration for how well each performed a particular feature.

File Formats
Digital music can exist in a number of file formats, including MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, etc. We evaluated these programs on their ability to support playback of the most popular formats, as well as their support for additional ones. Many jukebox programs even have the means to convert one file type to another. We also considered the variety of video file formats for those programs that have video functionality.

Ease of Use
In order to be enjoyable, a jukebox program should be easy to use for you and for your party guests. The interface should be intuitive and basic tasks like creating playlists or searching for particular titles should be as easy as flipping through choices on an actual jukebox. How easy would it be for one of your party guests to walk up to the PC, browse through your music collection and line up a few favorites as requests?

Help and Support
Regardless of how easy a program is to use, there may be times when more information is needed. Most programs have a built-in help function, but are the topics most likely to cover questions adequately? Are there other means of support, such as an easy way to contact a support team or a community of users to share ideas with? We considered these and other forms of user help and support in our evaluation.

Much like vocals, lyrics and melodies come together to make great music, the features we evaluated make a great program to enjoy music. If your goals include the creation of an audio and visual experience for you and your party guests, as well as the means to better manage your collection of music files, then you may be ready for a jukebox program. For the best jukebox software, check out MediaMonkey, MusicCenter and Virtual Music Jukebox. They will help you organize, manage and ultimately better enjoy your music collection and you may just end up being the life of the next party.