I've seen my fair share of MP3 players. Winamp's one of the better ones. Ever since they made the full version free a year ago, Nullsoft's been coming up with all sorts of gadgetry for it.

While difficult to make a skin for (one of my friends uses Winamp skins as promotions for his music, and it works), it's well worth it if you get good at it. And a tip--go for the futuristic 3D looks. Those seem to be the attention getters. Skins are available at their website.

Winamp plays any music format under the sun. AU, WAV, MP3, CDA...chances are if it exists, Winamp can play it. Not only that, but the optional visualizations (also available at their website) make you stare in awe. Many players, however, are also capable of playing the formats, so it's not as if it's a must-have.

The main problem I have is that almost immediately after you download the lastest version, it's obsolete. Updates are almost as frequent as Chris Rock's white-slamming routines, and most of the time they're useless. By the time an important update comes up, you're runnin' the risk of a bug developing in the software (and that is about as common as the updates depending on what you add to the initial program).

If you're willing to put up with the endless attempts to update the software, Winamp's your best bet.

Recommended: Yes