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Mufin MusicFinder Base

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License Type: Demo
Date Added: Feb 2008
Operating Systems: Windows XP
File Size: 26289KB
Downloads Count: 1450
Author: Magix AG

Rediscover your music when Mufin builds playlists based on your favorite tracks' sound.

It's great to have a hard drive full of tunes, but what's the point if you can't find anything to listen to? Mufin MusicFinder Base analyzes your music collection and creates playlists based on musical criteria, not on tags or obvious associations. You can save these playlists for later or play them right there in the program's three-paned interface.

Mufin MusicFinder Base's playlist builder is a breeze to use. Just import your collection, select the track or tracks that suit your mood, and let it select songs for you. Importing a big collection the first time can take a while, but subsequent updates are less time-consuming. I started with a deliberately small and eclectic collection of 300 tracks, which led to some odd associations (Bjork and Tchaikovsky, anyone?). At about 500 tracks, the playlists got much more cohesive, and occasionally a little spooky in its accuracy.

The early version I tested was a bit rough around the edges. Ripping CDs requires a related program obtained by filling out a form and waiting for a response; it took over a week to get the code. I didn't have good luck with the disk-burning or playlist-transferring functions, either. There's no pretending that MusicFinder will handle all your audio chores--but there are a number of free programs that can do those.

At one thing, though, Mufin MusicFinder Base excels. It digs into those forgotten tracks and finds the ones that are musically similar to your selected favorites. It's especially good for unearthing those gems hidden on uneven albums, such as soundtracks. On one memorable playlist, Mufin MusicFinder Base pulled tracks from albums including 80s pop, 90s alternative, an anime soundtrack, big band, heavy metal, jazz piano, and samba--and it worked. The result was an ear-friendly collection that I'm sure I wouldn't have come up with on my own.

Note: This free demo version creates playlists of only 74 minutes. To make longer playlists, you can upgrade to the full $20 version.

--Laura Blackwell