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Your PC As a Jukebox - MP3s
If you are primarily focused on enjoying music on your computer, there are several alterations you should consider:
- A relatively larger hard drive, at least in the 80 GB to 120 GB range
- A CD burner like those that I recommend
- A separate sound card from the motherboard like those that I recommend
- At least a 3-piece speaker system; ideally, a 5-piece Surround Sound system
Less important components on this computer would include your video card, which you could purchase a value card and your processor.
A larger hard drive should be considered due to the file size of MP3s. A single song will be at least 4 MBs in size; all of those songs add up quickly to swamp your hard drive. The file size of your song also depends on the bit rate of your file. Here's a website that compares the audible differences between each bitrate, which should help you decide what bitrate you should eventually use for your music.
MP3 downloading off of services like Kazaa used to be a great way to get free music, but recent actions by the Recording Industry make it a risky proposition. I recommend using a music service such as the legalized Napster, because even though it may cost you several dollars a month for the service, it is well worth preventing a lawsuit that could end up costing you thousands of dollars in the end.
Also, you'll need a CD burning program so you can rip and burn your music on to CDs. MusicMatch's award-winning program, Jukebox, does it all, from burning and ripping music tracks to neatly organizing your playlists; it's relatively cheap too, at only $19.99. Here's a review of Jukebox, which praises the updated version of the program.
As for a program to play your music on your computer, I prefer iTunes, as it allows you to easily view, search and compile your collection of music.
