PC users, meet an excellent iTunes Music Store substitute.

The good: All-in-one player, ripper, encoder, burner, online radio receiver, music manager, MP3 player loader, and download service; secure songs transfer to MP3 players; streamlined interface; supports Universal Plug and Play devices.

The bad: Some performance problems; limited community features.

By Rebecca Viksnins, October 9, 2003

In the software world, a point upgrade isn't typically met with much more than a yawn. But with version 8.1, Musicmatch has taken a huge step forward by integrating a PC-only, 99-cent-per-song music download service with its all-in-one player, ripper, encoder, burner, and music manager. While we have some performance complaints, Musicmatch 8.1 blows Windows-only competitor BuyMusic out of the water. Better yet, it looks to be a viable alternative to the highly anticipated PC version of Apple iTunes Music Store due out before the end of the year.

As always, Musicmatch comes in two versions: the free, downloadable Basic package and the feature-packed $19.99 Plus version. The Downloads service (admittedly not the catchiest name) works with both versions, but the Basic program requires you to sit through upgrade ads. Only Plus users get Musicmatch's powerful SuperTagging, a helpful add-on that examines your audio files and fills in the appropriate ID3 tags based on certain characteristics, such as filename. Another reason to spring for Plus is burn speed. While Basic writes at a mind-numbingly slow 1X, Plus burns as fast as 48X.

The Downloads service is nicely integrated with the rest of the app.

Just like iTunes Music Store, Musicmatch's Downloads service runs through a tightly integrated standalone application (unlike BuyMusic's browser interface, which requires Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher). Browsing for music is free; once you find a song you want, you have to complete a one-time registration, which is relatively painless.

With more than 200,000 songs, Musicmatch's current catalog is thinner than iTunes', but the company plans to hit the 500,000 mark before the end of the year. Unlike BuyMusic's erratic pricing, Musicmatch delivers on its 99-cent-per-tune guarantee, which is the same as Apple's service. Most albums cost $9.99--the same rate iTunes Music Store charges. The songs are secure WMA files encoded at 160Kbps, which sound approximately as good as Apple's 128Kbps AACs, although, to a certain extent, that's a matter of preference. Musicmatch has one leg up on Apple: its built-in personalization technology, which recommends similar artists based on your music selections.

In our tests, downloads flowed effortlessly onto our PC and, from there, a WMA-supporting MP3 player without problems. In contrast, secure BuyMusic WMAs are still notoriously incompatible with portable devices. We appreciated that songs download in the background, for uninterrupted browsing. But we noticed some sluggishness when switching between features of the program, download or no. However, a Musicmatch representative tells us the company plans to issue new builds that address performance problems over the next month. Also note that Musicmatch queues up all newly downloaded tunes in your current playlist by default, which can be annoying if you're listening to low-key ambient music but downloading tunes for Friday night's dance party. To change the default setting, select Options > Settings and uncheck "Add to playlist window."

Once you've downloaded a song to your PC, you have a good deal of freedom on how you can use it. There are a few commonsense restrictions (also found in iTunes Music Store): you can play your tracks on up to three PCs, and while you can write tracks to CD, you can burn the same playlist only five times.

Introduced back in version 7.5, the Portable Device Manager quickly transfers your tunes onto most MP3 players. We transferred both older MP3 playlists and newly purchased WMA tracks to our Creative Nomad MuVo NX without a problem. If your portable device supports MP3Pro (most RCA players do), you can use Musicmatch to encode to MP3Pro for better sound quality per megabyte. Musicmatch can even normalize transferred tracks if you've checked the "Enable the volume leveling and sound enhancements during download" box in the Portable Players window. That way, the volume will remain constant through all the tracks on your MP3 player (you can also normalize files during the ripping process). Musicmatch 8.1 supports Universal Plug and Play devices, so you don't have to camp out in front of your computer to enjoy your music.

Musicmatch offers two monthly online-radio subscription plans: the $4.95 MX Platinum and the $2.95 MX Gold. Both work with either Plus or Basic, let you discover new bands based on your listening preferences, and create genre and era stations. Based on your artist preferences, you can form your own customized station, which you can then share with friends.

With its vast array of features, its tagging prowess, and now, a full-on Downloads service, Musicmatch has pushed digital music forward another notch. Once the company ramps up the number of songs in its catalog, Musicmatch stands a decent chance of besting Apple's soon-to-be-released iTunes for Windows.

>> Get New Musicmatch Downloads Here!