5 Ways to Listen to Music in Windows 10 

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system isn’t all flashy upgrades. Some of the changes Microsoft made with the update were issues that needed to be taken care of. Finally pulling Windows Media Center and hiding away Windows Media Player were two things that had to happen for the sake of Windows users everywhere. Unfortunately, doing so ensured that there would be a lot of people looking for ways to listen to music in Windows 10.

For years, Microsoft made three media programs, each with a different set of users in mind. Windows Media Player was Windows’ default media app for years. Over time it grew to be the most feature filled of all Microsoft’s media solutions. Microsoft chose to go create a dedicated piece of software for its Zune MP3 and video players though. Windows Media Center came along before Zune did. It focused on letting users create media center PCs to connect to their television sets. It was designed to be used with a remote, not a mouse and keyboard.

Read: How to Watch Videos, YouTube & More in Windows 10

Today, Microsoft’s line-up is pretty slim. Windows Media Player will no longer get software updates of any kind. It’s had its DVD playback abilities stripped. It’s still installed in Windows 10; you just have to know exactly where to find it. Windows Media Center is gone, but there are things that you can do to bring it back.

Read: 12 Microsoft Groove Music Tips & Tricks

Here are 5 great ways to listen to music in Windows 10, Microsoft latest operating system upgrade.

How to Listen to Music in Windows 10: Groove Music

Groove Music technically counts as Microsoft’s fourth attempt at creating a music player that people love.

It replaced the much-hated Xbox Music when Microsoft launched Windows 10 in 2015. The app supports playback of all types, including the files that you already own. It also has its own dedicated music subscription service, called Groove Music Pass. For $9.99 a month, users can download from Microsoft’s catalog to supplement their own stash of songs. Groove supports, AVI, WAV, MP3 and FLAC audio.

Any music stored in someone’s OneDrive cloud storage can be streamed from the Groove Music app.

How to Listen to Music in Windows 10: Windows Media Player

Look closely and you can still find Windows Media Player, the most feature filled audio player Microsoft ever created. The company hid access to it. Then made Groove the default. It still needs to keep it around for backwards compatibility.

Windows Media Player can handle lots of different file types. That includes the world’s three most popular formats, AVI, WAV and MP3. It’s cloud services can automatically pull down song and album information. Also, it’s the only app Microsoft still makes that support burning actual compact discs.

Look for Windows Media Player in the list of installed apps and programs within the Windows Accessories folder.

How to Listen to Music in Windows 10: iTunes

Companion to the world’s most profitable smartphone empire and what used to be the world’s most popular audio player, iTunes is still a juggernaut in the music industry. It’s probably the most fully featured music player ever. It certainly has access to the world’s biggest MP3 store, and what’s probably the world’s most popular internet-only radio station. That station is Beats 1. Apple Music has the second-largest group of paying subscribers of any music subscription service.

iTunes boasts support for every important media type, including MP3. You can turn on cross-fade and have your tracks blend together for a smooth transition. You need iTunes to sync media to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, but you don’t need any of them to get your hands on iTunes. Apple offers it for download online free of charge.

How to Listen to Music in Windows 10: Kodi

Kodi is a different kind of media player than most people are used to. It’s not a replacement for Groove Music or Windows Music Player. It’s a replacement for Windows Media Center.

Kodi is television friendly and designed so that users can see it from across a room without squinting. Like more traditional media players, it is able to pull down album metadata online.

This app is available in the Windows Store at no charge.

[ Download Kodi from the Windows Store for Free ]

How to Listen to Music in Windows 10: VideoLan (VLC)

VideoLan, VLC for short, is one of the popular media players of all time. Versions of it are available in every app store and on every device actually worth spending your money on.

The Windows Store version of VLC supports video and audio in a single interface. It also includes support for Flac audio files. A built-in equalizer lets users get the sound just the way they like it. If you want, it’ll pop-up notifications at the start of every song it plays.

VLC is also available in the Windows Store at no charge.

[ Download VLC from the Windows Store for Free ]

Good luck finding an app or program to listen to music on your Windows 10 PC.