Group test: what's the best audio/music software?

5. MusicBee

• Reviewed on: 23 June 11
• RRP: FREE
• Rating:

MusicBee is strictly for music only at this point, but the developer plans to release a video playback plugin later this year. It's not as visually pleasing as Clementine, nor does it support as many platforms, but MusicBee will appeal to Windows users looking for a speedier, lighter-weight alternative to Windows Media Player.

 

 

4. Traktor Pro 2

• Reviewed on: 10 June 11
• RRP: €199 (around £177)
• Rating:

Traktor 2 is available in a wide variety of price points and feature sets. You can find the comparison chart at Native Instruments' site. There's a lot of DJ software out there, and a lot of its significantly cheaper than Traktor, but you won't find any with more features, FX, or better hardware support. It has features galore, and I've only scratched the surface here (pun intended).

3. Studio One Artist 2

• Reviewed on: 2 December 11
• RRP: £80 inc. VAT
• Rating:

I give Studio One 2 Artist only 3.5 stars, because it's missing expansion via VST effects and instruments. However, it's a joy to work with and perfectly capable of producing excellent music without such. Studio One is a must download, even if you're a longtime user of another product.

2. SRS Audio Essentials

• Reviewed on: 2 September 11
• RRP: FREE
• Rating:

All in all, I consider SRS Audio Essentials a must-download. If you use WMP for playback, you don't need it, but VLC lovers and users of other players should grab it. One warning: Sound enhancement can be addictive. Plain ol' playback may never again suffice.

1. Google Music

• Reviewed on: 17 May 11
• RRP: FREE (in beta)
• Rating:

If you have a music collection and want to share it among multiple devices, and would like Web-based access as well, then you want Google Music. It's simple to set up and use, integrates well into Android and is easy to use on the Web. It's superior to Amazon's rival service because it lets you have a larger collection and because it handles WMA files. For now, Google Music is free because it's in beta, and it's one of the best deals you'll find (if you can get on the beta, and you're in the US!). It's not clear what the pricing will be in the future or if it will remain free. But after my initial look, even if Google started charging for it, I'd most likley be a Google Music customer, depending (of course) on the price.