iTunes: How Do We Compare Thee?

The teen years, day 1: So far, so good. On her first day as a teenager, our daughter was happy. She smiled big when she opened her iPod nano yesterday. So today she'll pop in the iTunes software CD and start seeing what all the good iTunes buzz is about.

iTunes cranks as the most popular music service and music store. CNET's bottom line on its top pick for music stores and jukeboxes: "Apple iTunes remains the easiest way to rip, organize, play, and buy digital music."

If you want to download to iPods, you need iTunes because it uses an AAC music file format and all the other services use the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. Simply put: iPods won't play WMA files and all the other MP3 players won't play AAC files.

But there are several WMA music services out there with loyal followers. If you want to see how they compare, check out CNET's top music service and software reviews.  Rhapsody comes in a close second for its attractive and intuitive interface and the site's playlist management features.

PC World also takes a look this week at three online music subscription services—AOL Music Now, Rhapsody.com, and Virgin Digital with Red Pass. These reviews of online music stores and online music subscriptions services by TechCrunch are also worth a look. Yahoo! Music Unlimited wins points for the lowest prices but each service has its pros and cons.

What's the favorite online music service in your house? Do you use more than one?