Richard R Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) I have a very simple request. Is there a media player for Windows 11 that does the following: Does not overwrite the metadata for my files at random Uses folder.jpg as album art where it is in the folder Plays mp3, flac, and all the usual subjects from local files. (Media server or network shares optional) Does playlists etc. AND Does random album shuffle. That is, randomly picks an album, plays the tracks in order, and then picks another album at random Most of the time I just use the classic Windows Media Player as I like the layout and being able to see the current queue as well as browsing albums, but I would really like to have it chose albums at random when I'm working. The only thing I've found was Music Bee (a few years back), but it wasn't great. Any suggestions anyone? Edited January 22 by Richard R typo in title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Winamp. Been using it for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 VLC, I think. I haven't used the feature but you can create a playlist of albums and play them in random order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowB_FTW Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 iTunes for Windows can do random Shuffle > Album. I've never used it, I've never used iTunes on Windows for playback at all, but the option is there. You add the artwork to the files/album in iTunes, so I'm not sure that fits with your folder naming - again, I don't use iTunes on Windows aside from backing up various family devices, so YMMV, it certainly plays all the file options you mention, and does playlists. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 7 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: Winamp. Been using it for years. I'll have to check that out. 6 hours ago, tauzero said: VLC, I think. I use VLC as the player on my phone. I don't think it will automatically shuffle all albums though. I'll take another look at the PC version. 4 hours ago, LowB_FTW said: iTunes for Windows can do random Shuffle > Album. The version if iTunes I have is from about 2007, and is only used to back up an iPad of the same vintage (which isn't used for music!) Windows Media Player Classic is just as old, so I'll look at iTunes too. Thanks for the suggestions- any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Karloff Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Musicbee. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 5 hours ago, LowB_FTW said: iTunes for Windows can do random Shuffle > Album. I've never used it, I've never used iTunes on Windows for playback at all, but the option is there. You add the artwork to the files/album in iTunes, so I'm not sure that fits with your folder naming - again, I don't use iTunes on Windows aside from backing up various family devices, so YMMV, it certainly plays all the file options you mention, and does playlists. Mark Does iTunes still force you to reformat MP3s to whatever format iPhones use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) 46 minutes ago, asingardenof said: Does iTunes still force you to reformat MP3s to whatever format iPhones use? No, it doesn't and it never has. iTunes uses whatever format the files are in already (so long as it is one that is supported). New rips from CD are done to the format selected in preferences - the default is AAC but it can be changed to any variety of MP3, Apple Lossless or uncompressed AIFF or WAV. There is an option to export to iPod/iPhone in a compressed format but this only affects the copies of the tracks on the mobile device. The versions in your library remain in their original format. Edited January 23 by BigRedX 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I gave up on iTunes years ago after it kept randomly deleting my ripped albums (my own purchased CDs, not dodgy copying). After I rebuilt the library a few times I couldn't be bothered any more. I remember hearing a few others had the same issue too. I'm sure it is better now but it sowed a (probably out of proportion) dislike of Apple products in me ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Pretty sure Foobar2000 can do this. https://www.foobar2000.org/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 Currently playing with WinAmp and MusicBee. I'll checkout Foobar as well. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 This has inspired me to actually use album shuffle, turns out it's a good feature, who knew 😅 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 MusicBee doesn't use folder.jpg for album art, so it's out of the running. WinAmp is good, and is ehat O have used the past few days. Is here a way to make it respond to media keys on the keyboard? A mini view between the bike interface and the really thin one would be nice, but not important. Will be trying foobar today. Thanks again everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 I've settled on WinAmp. Not perfect, and misses some display functionality, but it does what I specifically needed in picking a random album to play. I'm now listening to albums I haven't picked out in ages - which is exactly the intention. Thanks all, Rich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Richard R said: I've settled on WinAmp. Not perfect, and misses some display functionality, but it does what I specifically needed in picking a random album to play. I'm now listening to albums I haven't picked out in ages - which is exactly the intention. Thanks all, Rich Good choice. There's a Dynamic Library plug-in that is really useful - it might only be compatible with the heritage versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Oooooh. More things to fiddle with instead of doing billable client work. 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: Good choice. There's a Dynamic Library plug-in that is really useful - it might only be compatible with the heritage versions. Does it still whip the llama's a$$? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 minute ago, neepheid said: Does it still whip the llama's a$$? Blimey. I'd forgotten about that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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