On September 13, I wrote about how Winamp is launching their 10 Anniversary media player, but I never really installed the Beta version. Today when I loaded up Winamp, I was sent a notification that the 10th Anniversary edition was available and is out of Beta so I had download it and try it out. And now I can say, that I am officially addicted to the new version and have no intention of reverting back to a previous version.

What sold me on the new version? I would say the greatest improvement was the optional toolbar that is added to Internet Explorer. More specifically, I like how users can load up streaming radio music from SHOUTcast easier. This is a feature that the FoxyTunes browser plugin does not have. Below is a screen shot of how the toolbar looks:

Because my monitor is a bit large, I couldn’t capture the rest of the toolbar in one screen shot, so here is how the toolbar looks to the far right. There is also media player controls:

The blue icon is for toolbar options such as uninstalling the toolbar and clearing the history.

Another reason why I’m addicted to the new Winamp is because of how sleek it looks.

This is a major improvement from their last players. This new design makes Winamp like the Lamborghini of media players passing iTunes (which would be a Daewoo) in the fast lane. Come on Apple, take some notes from Winamp.

Overall, I’d highly recommend downloading the new version of Winamp. It is available at: http://www.winamp.com/player.

Winamp, the music player that will be turning 10 years old next month will be releasing its newest version 5.5 on October 10 at 10:10AM.  Some of the newest features in the Winamp 10th Anniversary Edition includes album art support, a Media Monitor that can automatically play songs from a website and form a playlist, and will soon have a toolbar.  There will also be remote access to music and videos on the web, on mobile devices, and on TVs while using a Wii, a PS3, and/or XBox 360.

These new features seem to make the new product more competitive against RealPlayer, iTunes, and even the FoxyTunes toolbar.  The beta version is available for download right now on AOL.com.  Winamp was created by Nullsoft which AOL acquired in 1999 for $80 million.  AOL and XM satellite also has a partnership so Winamp has built-in streaming XM channels.

Winamp has roughly 60 million users.  Congratulations to Winamp for 10 years of: “Winamp… Winamp… It really whips the llama’s ass.”