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Having switched to Ubuntu Linux from Windows XP almost three months ago, my main concern was of course the native Windows software which would no longer be available on Linux. Being a huge music fan with a collection of over 10,000 MP3's finding a decent music player was my first priority.
The criteria:What I was looking for was a replacement for Nullsoft Winamp, with the key feature of a media library. This media library had to do more than just display all my MP3's in a long list. I was also hoping to take my ratings from ID3 tags.
Also, my MP3 collection is disgracefully maintained. Some albums are in folders, some are loose in a gigantic directory with single MP3's. Some have ID3 tag info, some don't. Some have descriptive filenames - some don't. It's a mess, which I have no intention of taming - it'd take far too long. The easiest way of sorting this mess of MP3's is by file path.
Needed:
Smart playlists (e.g. highest rated media, most played media)
Import my ID3 tag ratings
Sort by file path column in media library
Instant search (no lengthly delays a lá Windows Media Player)
Media Button support out of the box (dell laptop)
The Players:Amarok:Homepage: http://amarok.kde.org/ 
My first stop was the hugely hyped Amarok, which I was assured was the god of Linux media players. Although a native of KDE (Amaro*k*), Amarok - it is claimed, works perfectly on Gnome.
Incredibly pretty - perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing media player I've seen on Linux. Features include add-on skins, a very good minimize to try feature and pretty announcements that pop up on every song. Also - when you quit Amarok the song currently playing fades out, niiice.
However, after playing a few random MP3's to test functionality I found myself very disappointed. The interface is a mess - with ugly vertical tabs providing the navigation between different viewpoints, all doing roughly the same thing. The only player I tried without support for media keys out of the box - and I couldn't configure them through the GUI.
In Gnome I've found Amarok to be quite buggy, it likes to crash.
To install:
sudo apt-get install amarok Criteria fulfilled: Smart Playlists. Rating:  /
XMMS:Homepage: www.xmms.org  Next stop was the Winamp knockoff, XMMS. Yet another very pretty player, although on my 1440 X 900 pixel screen it's tiny by default! XMMS's interface mimics your home stereo, and as a result the interface is very straightforward to use. It really is an exact replica of early versions of Winamp - which of course did not include a Media Library. XMMS still gets a higher rating than Amarok however, for it's straightforward interface.
To install:
sudo apt-get install xmms
Criteria fulfilled: None.
Rating: /
VLC Media Player:Homepage: www.videolan.org/vlc/  Most people I know who use XP swear by VLC, so I said it was worth a go. A very lightweight player, which is said to play *anything*. I've seen a basic media library in the windows version, however every time I tried to create a playlist of my 10,000+ files on Linux it crashed. Navigating the menu, functionality is basic. VLC just didn't do it for me.
To install:
sudo apt-get install vlc
Criteria fulfilled:None.
Rating: /
Rhythmbox: www.gnome.org/projects/rhythmbox/  Whilst demoing other media players, I was using Rhythmbox as my main media player from the beginning of my Linux adventures. Since it came bundled with Ubuntu it was the first I tried.
On first launch a helpful wizard allowed me to select which folders to scan. All my MP3's were added in reasonable time. The interface is by no means flashy but it is very functional. For all the features included, it runs quite fast. It has support for internet radio, however I found this sometimes difficult to get working - caused some crashes.
The media library itself is very fast, and searching is instant.
To install:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox
Criteria fulfilled: -Instant search
-Media Button support out of the box
-Smart playlists
Rating:  /
Banshee Music Player: Homepage: www.banshee-project.org  Banshee, at first glance, apears a carbon copy of Rhythmbox - but it's not. It's everything Rhythmbox is with a little more aside.
On startup a wizard allowed me to add my music - media was then added in the background, and 10,000+ files were added in under five minutes.
At the bottom of the media pane, there is a small box which recomends artists similar to the one you are listening to now. It will also give you the top songs and albums by this artist.
For example, while playing Bob Dylan recomended artists included Neil Young and Simon While playing an artist (Example Bob Dylan), top songs were "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Blowing in the Wind", and top album was "Highway 61 Revisited".
Click on any of these top tracks, and Banshee tries to locate and play the file on your local computer. An incredible feature, and it works!
Whatsmore, Banshee downloads the *correct* cover art for the artist you are currently listening to and displays it, and once done downloads the cover art of any other artists in your library.
The only disadvantage I've found of Banshee is it's memory usage - at one stage, it was using 140mb of memory. This doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to me, as I have plenty of RAM - but on any PC where resources are limited Banshee might not be for you.
Banshee is almost five star quality, but looses a star for being such a memory hog.
To install:
sudo apt-get install banshee
Criteria fulfilled: -Instant search
-Media Button support out of the box
-Smart playlists
Sort by file path column in media library
Rating: /
Conclusions:Interestingly, none of the media players fulfilled all my requirements. I've definetly noticed that none of the above media players are as feature rich as the likes of Winamp, however what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. If you're running a KDE based desktop environment (OpenSuse, Kubuntu), Amarok might be worth a try for you - personally, it didn't do it for me.
The clear winners in this article are Rhythmbox and Banshee. If you have a high-spec machine with resources to spare, Banshee has the edge. If you're low on RAM, or are obsessed with conserving system resources stick with Rhythmbox.
Overall, however - low resource usage was not part of my original criteria, and as a result Banshee wins!
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Tags: Linux open source amarok xmms rhythmbox vlc banshee media player music ubuntu gnome technology mp3 sound audio music cd media library. |
