SoundJam MP Plus is a full-featured, all-in-one MP3 player and encoder for the Macintosh. It features a customizable user interface, a 10-band graphic equalizer with presets, and even plug-ins that display graphics to the beat of the music. The application can encode your entire music collection--be it on CD, vinyl, or cassette--into high-quality MP3 files. SoundJam MP Plus encodes quickly on all Macintosh computers, and the G4 optimization makes it even zippier on the PowerMac G4 with Velocity Engine. Users can change the look of the MP3 player by changing its "skin." And you can build easily custom music playlists that can track your music by artist, track, song, style, track length, or date recorded.

Music Creator 2002 is an excellent tool for creating and editing MIDI music, and does a fair job of handling digital audio as well. The interface is somewhat overwhelming to the uninitiated, but with a little practice and the use of the many tutorials included with the software, you'll soon be making sweet music with ease.

This product's strong suit is MIDI audio, and recording, rearranging, and playing MIDI tracks is a snap. If you have an instrument with a MIDI interface, just connect it to the PC, fire up the software, hit the record button, and start playing. If you don't have a MIDI-compatible instrument, just use the included loops and samples, or import your own to create an infinite variety of music tracks. Once mastered, the interface makes it easy to layer tracks any way you like, dragging and dropping them into position to make a final multitrack session that's as complex or as simple as you like. Music Creator 2002 is also compatible with Virtual Sound Canvas DXi files, granting access to literally hundreds of different instrument sounds.

Fixing mistakes in a MIDI recording is as simple as activating the program's editing mode, which lets you record only a certain segment of a piece without disturbing the music that comes before and after it. Once a recording is made to your satisfaction you can edit it in nearly any way imaginable, from changing the tempo to adjusting the volume levels of individual tracks.

One of the nicest features of Music Creator 2002 is that it lets users easily create, edit, and print sheet music. Notes appear automatically on the staff when played on an attached MIDI instrument, and it also is possible to simply drag-and-drop notes onto the staff. Lyrics can then be added for a professional-looking result.

Music Creator 2002 can be used to record and edit digital audio from any source you can connect to a PC, but doesn't offer the professional functionality of tools like Cakewalk's SONAR or Home Studio 2002. If you really want to tweak your digital recordings, consider investing in one of these separate packages, each which integrates with Music Creator 2002. A basic mixer is included with Music Creator 2002 that lets you apply real-time audio effects like reverb and flange and otherwise adjust digital audio files. Finished recordings of all types can then be exported in a variety of formats, including MP3, Real Audio, and WAV, for playback or output to a recording device.

Music Creator 2002 is not for the dabbler who wants to quickly throw together some music, but anyone willing to put in the time necessary to exploit all the program's features will discover that in many ways it is a professional-quality product selling at a consumer-friendly price. If you already have some music editing experience you'll find that this is one of the easiest products to use of its type, especially for working with MIDI files and sheet music. --T. Byrl Baker

Audio CD MP3 Studio 2000 makes organizing and recording your libraries of audio files easier than ever. The application stores and manages .wav files using a special compressed format that dramatically cuts space requirements of your hard disk. Space taken up by audio files is reduced to one quarter of the size. So, you can store the data for a 60-minute audio CD in just 150 MBs instead of 600 MBs.

Audio CD MP3 Studio 2000 also supports MP3 files, which achieves much higher compression ratios. It can write MP3s to audio CD, and performs audio processing functions in real time. Rip music CDs to Wave, and then convert to MP3. Use the MP3 and Wave player to play music directly from your hard drive. This program supports most standard CD writers.

Cut, edit, and mix your MP3 files with Data Becker's MP3 Editor. While MP3 files are easy to download and share, repeated use can damage files. MP3 Editor prevents such loss, and also lets you edit your MP3 files without first converting to another format.

This handy program is compatible with any MP3 file and supports variable bit rate (VBR) encoded files. You can format your files for recording onto CDs, edit and customize files without compression loss, eliminate abrupt cuts, and splice together your favorites.

The MP3 Editor's simple, clean interface and unlimited undo feature make it easy to use and quick to master. Multiple cascading windows offer quick file access. A range of options lets you play back and loop your MP3 files, adjust fade depth and duration, as well as uniformly increase and decrease volume levels.

Specially priced bundle featuring Quickstart Music Mentor, Quickstart Piano, Quickstart Digital Recorder, and Quickstart Studio Composer

MusicMatch Jukebox is all-in-one jukebox software that delivers an interactive music experience, giving you quick access to the music you want, the way you want it. You can create playlists from your own music library, or easily transfer songs to a portable MP3 player. Manage music with an easy-to-access music library that can be organized by artist, album, song title, genre, and more. Create CDs with a simple "two-click" CD-burning system. Even record unlimited CD-quality MP3s from a CD, record, or tape collection. Includes free MP3 files to get your collection started immediately, and a six-foot stereo cable to connect your Mac to your stereo for line-in recording.