iPod classic syncing issues: the best iTunes alternatives

November 27, 2009 1:00 pm by Joe Minihane

Categories: Guides Extra Tags: Apple, ipod classic, iTunes, sharepod, songbird, spotify, Winamp, windows media player

Update: Apple has just released iTunes 9.03. Has it fixed your iPod? Tell us now!

Still can’t get your iPod classic to play nice with iTunes? Then you need to start looking for an alternative that’ll either let you hook up tunes to your Apple jukebox, or find a new way to access music on the move. Here’s our pick of the best iTunes alternatives out there.

Best for easy access: Songbird
Songbird, Mozilla’s open source media player is a stunner, and you can download it for free now. Best of all you can sync your library with your iPod using a dedicated add-on. It’ll show up just as it does (or at least, should do) in iTunes 9, letting you play tracks and copy music over, bypassing Cupertino’s soundsystem altogether.

Best for PC users: Windows Media Player
Packing a PC? Then you can kiss goodbye to iTunes 9’s wobbliness and use Windows Media Player instead. MGTEK dopisp flogs a plugin for US$19.95 that’ll let you sync your iPod with Redmond’s rejigged media library. You can try it our gratis for 30 days, which may be worth it while you wait for Apple to issue a fix.

iTunes 9 syncing issues: How to fix your iPod classic

Best for iPhone: Spotify If you’ve got an iPhone, it’s time to forget iTunes altogether and use the Spotify iPhone app instead. You can sync offline playlists over Wi-Fi and fill your iPhone up with new music for just a tenner a month. Without the iPod music library hogging space, there’ll be gigabytes of room for you to store offline tracks, and best of all, you can take the lot with you onto an Android or Symbian blower if you decide to ditch Apple’s phone at the end of your contract.

Best for old school musos: Winamp
This media warhorse has been kicking around for years and remains a top choice for music buffs everywhere. You can either download a dedicated iPod Winamp plugin or simply change your iPod into disk mode and access it via Winamp that way. Which ever road you go down, iTunes will be a thing of the past, and you’ll find tons of plugins for Winamp to extend it further too.

Best for use at work: Sharepod
This free, easy alternative is PC only, but it’s an ace way to sync your iPod without using iTunes. Sharepod launches from the iPod itself so you can use it on any PC, dragging in new music and loading it up to your iPod without any hassle. Perfect if you don’t have admin rights on your employer’s desktop PC.