20 Best Free Music Player and Downloader Apps on PC and Mac

You might stick to streaming platforms for enjoying favorite music and discovering new albums. Gone are the days of downloading and organizing gigabytes by date, free music player seems out of date. In order to enjoy the music files offline for free, it should always be your first choice.

But there are benefits of local music instead. For example, you can listen to local music without Internet access. Not to mention the downloaded music is completely free to listen to repeatedly. Here is a list of best free music player and downloader software for Windows and Mac.

Part 1: Top 10 free music players for PC

Top 1: AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player is a freemium music player for Windows and Mac. It supports almost all media formats, including MP3, MP2, AIFF, AAC, ALAC, etc. The excellent quality and seamless playback are impressive.

Pros

• 1. The best music player for Windows 10/8/7 is compatible with a wide range of audio formats.
• 2. The interface is friendly and you can find what you want quickly.
• 3. You can control the playback with onscreen icons and hotkeys.
• 4. The built-in equalizer allows you to make customizable experiences.

Cons

• 1. It lacks the media library functionality.

Top 2: Free Blu-ray Player

If you just need a simple tool to enjoy music on hard drives or physical discs, Free Blu-ray Player is a free music player with most the audio, video, DVD and Blu-ray files. Moreover, you can take the advantage algorithm that offers smooth playback.

Pros

• 1. This music player can be downloaded from the website for free.
• 2. It will keep 100% audio quality when playing your favorite music.
• 3. It supports the Blu-ray/DVD and audio CD playback as well.

Cons

• 1. It does not contain bonus features, such as online music download.
• 2. This music player is too simple to advanced users.

Top 3: MusicBee

As a free music player, MusicBee is prevalent among music lovers and enthusiasts. The built-in media library allows you to manage music collection simply.

Pros

• 1. It equips a highly customizable interface that can be skinned.
• 2. MusicBee will identify your songs and auto-fill metadata information.
• 3. There is a portable version for using without installation.
• 4. This audio player integrates extensive features.

Cons

• 1. It requires extra codecs when transcoding MP3 and AAC.
• 2. There are some bugs, such as play the same tracks, even marked for skipping.

Top 4: Winamp

Winamp is another free music player with no ads or other limitations. It not only supports a variety of audio formats, such as AIFF, AAC, ALAC, M4A and more, but also includes extensive useful features, such as the media library, playlist and more.

Pros

• 1. Winamp is flexible and can be extended with plugins.
• 2. The audio quality is good, especially with the DSP plugins.
• 3. It integrates some modern features, such as Internet radio streams.
• 4. There is a huge selection of skins.

Cons

• 1. This music player has discontinued since 2013.
• 2. It becomes very heavy to download though it was simple at first.

Top 5: foobar2000

foobar2000 is another customizable way to play downloaded music or online streams on computer for free. It almost includes all features you need in a free music player and downloader.

Pros

• 1. The interface is customizable and you can redesign it based on your need.
• 2. There are many extra components to expand the music player.
• 3. The library capacity lets you to manage all your music easily.

Cons

• 1. It does not include a mini player for listening to music in the background.
• 2. It requires some advanced computing skills.

Top 6: Dopamine

Dopamine is a free music player and downloader supports MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, etc. It includes some useful features related to music playback, such as automatic meta tagging, displaying lyrics in real time, and more.

Pros

• 1. This music player is able to recognize the music on your hard drives.
• 2. You can control titles, music playback and other aspects.
• 3. The interface is straightforward and easy to navigate.

Cons

• 1. Some features require Windows 10.
• 2. It cannot search for lost artwork automatically.

Top 7: Jaangle

If you need a free music player and downloader to download or get local songs on your computer, Jaangle may be a good choice you should choose. It is compatible with most popular audio formats, like M4A, WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, MKV, OGG, etc.

Pros

• 1. Includes a large number of album art, artist photos, and more.
• 2. The lyrics will be displayed or hidden according to your preferences.
• 3. Lots of built-in options that you can adjust based on your need.

Cons

• 1. It cannot show extended tag information.
• 2. It is not compatible with Windows 7 or earlier.

Top 8: AIMP

AIMP makes music organization and enjoying a breeze. If you have a large collection of music, it will look for the missing metadata and auto fill it. The free music player AIMP integrates extensive features related to music.

Pros

• 1. AIMP is compatible with multiple audio codec.
• 2. The library is useful for playing, managing and searching for music.
• 3. It has built in the updater to get the latest version automatically.

Cons

• 1. The interface contains so many features that beginners may be confused.
• 2. The help file is only available in English and Russian languages.

Top 9: Groove Music

If you believe WMP lacks codecs, Groove Music is a good free alternative music player you can take into consideration. It can play WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, MKV, OGG, M4B, RA, RAM, and more without extra codec downloads.

Pros

• 1. The music quality is pretty good.
• 2. You are permitted to create playlists and manage your collection.
• 3. It is able to play your music uploaded to One Drive.

Cons

• 1. It lacks the support for devices outside of Microsoft.
• 2. You cannot browse music by genre.

Top 10: Songbird

Songbird is another Windows free music player with extensive features. It is able to play both local music and online streams. It works on a wide range of audio formats, including AC3, APE, MKV, OGG, M4B, RA, RAM, etc.

Pros

• 1. The built-in media library allows you to manage music files simply.
• 2. There are a lot of custom options for advanced users.
• 3. Play, manage and discover music files with free music player.

Cons

• 1. It has not been updated for Windows 10.
• 2. Some features are only available in the full version.

Part 2: Top 10 free music players for Mac

Top 1: iTunes

iTunes is not a dedicated free music player, but it does play music on Ma. It you have music files with iPhone, you can sync the audio files between different Apple devices. Moreover, you can purchase the excellent music from your iTunes Store.

Pros

• 1. It is completely free of charge and you can get it from Apple's website.
• 2. You can listen to local music or purchase songs in the store.
• 3. iTunes is able to convert music to MP3 or AAC simply.

Cons

• 1. It only supports limited audio formats, such as MP3 and FLAC.
• 2. iTunes cannot detect music outside the iTunes Library.
• 3. Difficult to manage the audio files within your Mac.

Top 2: VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a popular open-source music player and editor available for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It can decode any music files in MP3, MP2, AIFF, AAC, ALAC, M4A, etc. Besides, you can download and convert audio files.

Pros

• 1. It supports all audio and video formats without extra codecs.
• 2. VLC contains extensive features, like convert music, rip music and more.
• 3. It is light weighted and works well on both new and old devices.

Cons

• 1. It is not designed for music playback, so it does not contain a media library.
• 2. Some features are difficult to perform and hard to master for beginners.
• 3. Cannot enjoy the hi-resolution audio files within the free music player.

Top 3: Banshee

Banshee is an open-source music player compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux. It has the ability to handle podcasts, Internet radio, and local music playback with the most frequently used audio formats, such as MP3, FLAC and more.

Pros

• 1. There is a full-featured media library to manage media files.
• 2. The built-in metadata editor to change the metadata information simply.
• 3. You can add extensions to redesign the free music player.

Cons

• 1. The latest update was in early 2014.
• 2. It requires Mono.net patent trap and bloatware.
• 3. The loose user interface that confuse to beginners.

Top 4: Tomahawk

Tomahawk is a free music player that lets music fans enjoy tunes from hard drive, and more. By supporting M4A, WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, MKV and other media formats, Tomahawk becomes a good option for Mac users.

Pros

• 1. Collect music on your computer and online in one hub.
• 2. Create, modify and manage your playlist within the player.
• 3. The social listening functionality is pretty useful.

Cons

• 1. Cannot import music files from the iTunes library.
• 2. It does not support Pandora or Slacker.
• 3. Cannot select all tracks with command lines on your Mac.

Top 5: Vox Audio Player

Vox Audio Player is a free music player for Mac supports most of the popular music formats, such as MP3, MP2, AIFF, AAC, ALAC, M4A, WMA, MAV, etc. It is featured to enjoy the Hi-Res music through popular sources with FLAC.

Pros

• 1. The quality of music playback is very impressive.
• 2. The interface is intuitive and lets you find everything you need quickly.

Cons

• 1. It does not contain advanced feature, such as convert the audio file.
• 2. It uses as much CPU and memory as iTunes.
• 3. Subscribe in order to get more advanced features.

Top 6: Clementine

As a free music player, Clementine offers a big set of features, including manage, play, and edit music on Mac. It gives you the opportunity to access different resources.

Pros

• 1. Support popular music playlist files in M3U, XSPF, PLS and ASX.
• 2. Clementine creates playlists automatically based on your preferences.
• 3. Besides local music, it is compatible with a lot of online services.

Cons

• 1. The interface is messy and non-customizable.
• 2. It is larger in size and uses more CPU than VLC.
• 3. Have not updated for a period of time and crashes a lot.

Top 7: Nightingale

Nightingale was developed based on Songbird, another free music player. It integrates a customizable interface and an advanced media library. The free music player works with MP3, OGG, FLAC and more other audio codec.

Pros

• 1. Simple natively with extensions that can add more other features.
• 2. Arrange and search for the music according to title, time, artist and more.
• 3. The playlist functionality allows you to listen to music without interruptions.

Cons

• 1. The last update has slowed down since 2014.
• 2. Crash is a frequently reported problem for the program.
• 3. Compatibility issues with the add-ons are big problems.

Top 8: Quod Libet

Quod Libet is a GTK+ based open source music player written in Python by Mutagen tagging library. It packs with extensive codecs that play and organize WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, MKV, OGG, M4B and more audio codec on Mac smoothly.

Pros

• 1. Quod Libet is easy to use with lots of extensive features.
• 2. Organize and edit your large music collection within a simple process.
• 3. Lots of plugins available to extend the features based on your need.

Cons

• 1. The free music player takes a large space with up to 130MB.
• 2. Some plugins of the program need to improve and integrated.
• 3. The GUI could have more eye-candy features.

Top 9: Musique

Musique is another free music player with a clean and innovative interface. You can always browse and organize the music within collection by artists' pictures or album covers. It works on most popular media formats, such as AIFF, AAC, ALAC, M4A, WMA, MAV, etc.

Pros

• 1. Make a queue of the music files and play back music files automatically.
• 2. Minimal and clear user interface to enjoy music on different platforms.
• 3. Add or remove music by drag-and-drop command with ease process.

Cons

• 1. Lack some basic features as best music player, such as playlist creation.
• 2. Limited custom options to edit and custom the music files.

Top 10: Elmedia Player

Elmedia Player is a free music player that works with most of the M4A, WMA, MAV, AC3, APE, OGG and more audio codecs. It is similar to iTunes to create, manage and delete playlists, or even organize the music files according to your criteria.

Pros

• 1. Play back music files on Mac or online streams via URLs directly.
• 2. Allow you to search music online with the built-in web browser.
• 3. Custom options to adjust the audio codec, subtitle, and layout.

Cons

• 1. Limited audio editing features within the free music player.
• 2. Cannot manage or edit your music library on Mac.
• 3. Download and other features are available for the Pro version.

Conclusion

Based on the free music player review, you should grasp top 20 music players for Windows and Mac. When you make some excellent lyrics by yourself, you can take advantage of the free music player and downloader apps to enjoy them offline without problem. If you have any other query about the best programs to enjoy the music files for free, you can share more information in the article.