Conclusion
And that brings our list of audio consumption applications to a close. These programs let us manage music across multiple sources, sync to an iPod, playback and rip tracks from CDs, stream music to the desktop, tag and catalog music collections, record from a microphone, as well as convert and manipulate audio files. Let's go over some of the highlights.
First up are the music managers. With iPod sync, streaming radio, podcast support, and video playback, Banshee is the ultimate media management application. Amarok and RhythmBox are both serious music managers capable of iPod sync, and so is Clementine, styled after a popular old version Amarok. Guayadeque is a fast, yet powerful music manager near to the capabilities of WinAmp. Both Exaile and Foobnix are adequate for a mix of local files and Internet radio.
Linux is full of audio player applications. From large library-based players with enhanced playlist functions to simple barebones playback, there are audio players to meet any need or run on any system. All the audio players worked well, but Audacious, Bluemindo, DeaDBeeF, and Quod Libet stick out from the pack.
Goobox is a great CD player with limited track ripping support. The official Last.fm Linux client is fantastic, though Vagalume also supports libre.fm streams. Audex and Asunder are both excellent CD rippers that should work for most people, but advanced users may want to try XFCA for DVD audio and conversion options.
The EasyTag and Kid3 digital audio file taggers are both simple to use, yet offer plenty of file type support and organizational options. MHWaveEdit is a great sound recorder with simple to use editing capabilities. QARecord is an easy sound recorder, with the flexibility for use in a more advanced sound production environment.
Stay tuned for our next installment of Tom's Definitive Linux Software Roundup: Audio Production. We'll be going over applications geared towards professional and semi-pro audio creation, production, and editing.
