Options for streaming music from your PC to the rest of the house

Reader Patricia writes: I know nothing about technology, but would like to buy a stereo system that is wireless and plays music off my computer in my home. I'd like to have wireless speakers in various rooms, and if I can program different music to different rooms, that would be ideal. Does that exist at a reasonable cost?

There are so many ways to stream music from your PC to the rest of your house that outlining them all here would be virtually impossible. I've personally tested close to a dozen such systems, though, so here are some favorite alternatives that you might want to consider.

Sonos is the gold standard in this market, both in features and in price. A Sonos setup lets you put a receiver wherever you want music: Either connect it to your stereo system or buy a unit with an amplifier to which you can attach any speakers, then control it all -- in every room -- with a cool, iPod-like control system, complete with a color screen that lets you see the album cover of what you're playing. It doesn't just grab music from your PC, it also plays music from Internet services including Pandora, Napster, and more. Alas, the price is a killer: A two-room setup (sans speakers) will run you a cool $999, so this is probably not the best option for you.

A much cheaper, but less elegant, option, is the Logitech Duet. The Duet does most of what the Sonos does, including letting you wander from room to room with a master controller and having the music follow you as you go. $400 gets you one receiver and one controller. Additional receivers are $150. (Note that Duet is not amplified, so you'll need to hook each up to a stereo system or TV to play music.)

Got a TV in the room where you want music? Any gaming console -- Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii -- can stream audio from your PC, though in some cases it may take a little finagling. Still, this solution requires no extra hardware or expense if you already have the pieces. Almost any TiVo can do the same thing right out of the box, as well.

How about a computer? If you've even got a laptop in the room in question, you can share your music library on one computer and play it on another. Assuming your speakers are loud enough, this is another solution that many find workable, especially because you can easily move a laptop with you as you move around the house.

Another system I've been toying with is the SqueezeBox Boom, which is about the size of a clock radio and has high-quality speakers built right in. It also streams from PC as well as online music services, and even satellite radio. The Boom is a decent deal at $300 and has excellent audio quality, but setup is a real nightmare. Last night my wife spent five minutes trying to set the alarm clock... which didn't go off this morning. If you have the time to learn the ins and outs of the system, however, it could be a winner.

A final option is to check out a media center extender, which virtually all of the Wi-Fi equipment companies make. The Linksys DMA2200 is a DVD player with Wi-Fi that can stream music, movies, and even live TV from any Media Center PC. Versions without optical drives are also available. The DMA2200 can be found for well under $200, so it's a real bargain compared to some of the products on this list.