Music Quandary

So, Apple released a new version of iTunes, one that doesn’t hose Windows 2000. I have a working copy of iTunes on my Windows XP system at work, so I’ve been dabbling with it and with MusicMatch Jukebox, and after some days worth of fun and experimentation, I’ve come up with some feelings regarding each. I would say that I’ve used both programs fairly extensively now, so I have a decent feel for each.

iTunes:
iTunes has a much more intuitive interface for browsing your music files.
iTunes has a more unified look.
iTunes starts faster, and seems a little bit more stable.
iTunes has approximately twice the song count as MMJB, including more exclusive content.
iTunes is free for full-speed rips and burns.
iTunes has a much looser licensing agreement.
iTunes uses the AAC format, which doesn’t work on my Rio Volt SP250. I’d have to find a way to convert those songs to MP3 if I really wanted them on my player.

MusicMatch Jukebox:
MMJB has much more extensive artist information, including full discographies of almost every artist they have listed. There are sometimes gaps in the songs, but the artist info is all top-notch.
MMJB has a better search results setup, at least in my mind. I can’t browse as easily as I can iTunes, but it was much easier to pull up information on artists than iTunes, which seemed to lack artist information almost entirely.
MMJB has a MUCH better radio system, even if you’re using the free stuff. The ability to fast forward ‘net streams in and of itself is an amazing thing.
MMJB has free capability, but it is limited when compared, at least in respect to the rip/burn process.
MMJB’s super tagging is MUCH better and easier to use than anything iTunes has for managing song information, including full lyric sets with songs if you want.
MMJB’s agreement is more restrictive than iTunes when it comes to song rights.
MMJB downloads songs in WMP format, which works just fine with my Rio Volt SP250.

Overall, it’s a tough choice for me. I don’t see it as cut and dry as the whole juicy apple/bag of crap. Admittedly, MMJB will burn people because it is slower and can be a little crashy, but their 8.1 version is the most stable version I’ve seen yet, and there is a new release coming up soon to help resolve those issues. Yeah, it’s crashed on me, but only when I tried to do something a little non-standard. It hasn’t flaked out on me during normal operation on either of my WinXP or Win2K boxes. I also have a lifetime registration for MMJB, which makes the free/pay comparison go out the window, at least for me.

I’ll probably use iTunes to get songs I can’t find on MMJB or vice-versa, and I’ll probably stick to MMJB for ripping songs, as I have the paid version so it rips hella fast, just like iTunes. I like that I have more control over the file structure with MMJB than I do with iTunes, as I’m really anal about things like that.

Also, a fun note: I’ve got a beta copy of Winamp 5. It looks eerily like MMJB, but is hella faster and more stable. It also can rip now, but they’re going to be implementing a “Pro” paid version it looks like, so you won’t be able to rip but at 2x or something unless you upgrade. That kinda sucks, but oh well. It’ll also be able to burn, I do believe. It’s like the skinning capabilities of 3 with the speed and reliability of 2 combined. I couldn’t stand Winamp 3, so this is a nice development. The default skin looks like an MMJB-style layout though, which as I’ve already said once, is just kinda eerie.