Before I talk about the latest version of WinAmp, arguably the most popular MP3 player our there, It would help if you knew what MP3 files are. MP3, which stands for MPEG Layer-3, is an audio format that allows the production of highly compressed files without greatly sacrificing audio quality (users of most streaming audio players know what this is like). One of the most popular uses of MP3 formatting is the ability to shrink down the original sound data from a Music CD by a ratio of 12 to 1. The compression ratio makes it ideal for compressing songs from CDs, storing them on your PC, and then playing them from your computer's hard drive. That's where a MP3 player, like WinAmp, comes in.
