Much of I Want My MP3 has to do with software--the players, playlist managers, rippers, and encoders you need to convert and listen to music. Mann emphasizes the Sonique player, the AudioCatalyst ripper/encoder, and the MusicMatch Jukebox all-purpose application. He covers RealJukebox, XingMP3 Player, and RealPlayer G2 as well, but (in a break from his competitors) doesn't pay much heed to WinAmp. It's refreshing to see an author defend his personal software preferences, and also nice to read about sound-editing utilities that other books neglect completely. There's brief coverage of all popular handheld and car-mounted MP3 hardware devices too.
Mann backs up his player coverage with loads of media material, including reviews of dozens of MP3 repositories (he favors large sites over fly-by-night ratio sites run by students) and a CD-ROM containing a better-than-average collection of tunes. --David Wall
Topics covered: Arranging and playing MP3 files, ripping and encoding MP3 files (converting CD tracks to MP3 format), various software utilities and hardware playback devices, and MP3 archives on the Internet.