I will admit. I used iTunes. And I loved it goddammit. It copied my MP3s to its own library and arranged them neatly in a series of folders. I am neurotic and this pleased me. Did you notice that I said loved? Recently, iTunes is just a series of crashes followed by corruption of my most prized MP3s that I didn't have backed up. Screw you, Steve. After doing some hardcore googling, I happened across a forum that was praising foobar2000 for being a lite app and having close to unlimited customization. They also spoke of a series of plugins that would allow me to emulate the iTunes features that made it my MP3 program of choice.

I've lurked here for about a week now and these are some of the best written posts I've ever seen. Bravo! However, to me, it all reads like directions for building a thermonuclear reactor. Please halp, how do I get foobar2000 to emulate iTunes?

Latest foobar version with the "facets" component allows me to essentially duplicate itunes appearance. That said, I also use itunes for synching with my ipod and haven't noticed any difficulties with ITUNES.

foobar2000 doesn't automate things and do everything behind your back like iTunes does. foobar2000 will not do a single thing until you tell it to. However, as music organization is completely unlimited and very powerful, it can take maybe three clicks to sort all of your music into folders. The names you use for those folders are completely customizable and derive directly from the metadata.

There is nothing significantly difficult about the Default UI, even in high-customization scenarios. The "thermonuclear reactor" nonsense is for the people who develop custom skinned UIs, which to me isn't really what foobar2000 is about.

In short, if you want the best user experience, use the Default UI. If you want some skinned, pretty app for doing music, you can try assembling a Columns UI or Panels UI thermonuclear reactor.

That said, Columns UI is quite sane. It's like the Default UI with more possibilities and a bigger learning curve.

Don't install this one. It hasn't been updated in forever, and it sure to be a pain in the butt.

I would tend to agree with you.

For a Itunes like foobar you need the following components extra components: (on optional components pages on foobar2000.org)

foo_facets.dll
foo_dop.dll
foo_playcount.dll
foo_dbsearch.dll
foo_textdisplay.dll

When installing foobar check all extra options and tools.
Start foobar and choose a layout. Add your musicfolder to the library.
Click View > Layout > Create Scratchbox.

Play around in this scratchbox with your rightmousebutton and panels. Use splitters to create different panels. Try to create Itunes layout. When you are satisfied choose apply layout.
Go into preferences > display > default user interface > colors and fonts > Choose fonts and colors here to mimic Itunes fonts and colors.

Done!
Be careful, playing with foob's layout is very addictive and can coz waste of time and sleep... The longest time I had the same layout is 2 or 3 weeks.

To organize your files you use foo_fileops (included in installer). This is an extremely powerfull tool that organizes all your files and folders based on their tags. So make sure your tags are allright when playing/organizing files and folders (don't worry, there is a preview that will show results before you actually apply operations)

Thank you all so much for the definitive answers. I'm looking forward to an iTunes free life.



I used iTunes to organize my music and the Zune software to upload to my Zune. I'm willing to bet thats where the problem was.

And sorry about not following the rules with a clear topic title. Won't happen again. I promise.