Managing your MP3 library can be both confusing and frustrating. Allowing your music to pile up, without any organization, can spell disaster down the line. The problem of poorly-managed MP3s can spread to other devices too. Especially if you move your music around between your laptop and, for example, your smartphone.
Thankfully, there are plenty of tools available to help you get a handle on your MP3 management. So, here's a selection of tools to help you cure your music management migraine.
1. MediaMonkey
MediaMonkey doubles up as both a music player and MP3-organizer software. This makes it a great tool to have on your desktop. Before you jump in and grab MediaMonkey, it is worth noting that this isn't a lightweight app. It is a very comprehensive way to keep your music collection in check. This means beginners may struggle with the various tools available.
If MediaMonkey is of interest, though, then there is a whole world of MP3 management ahead of you. Firstly, you can organize your music based on the genre, year, artist name, or album title. This means finding files will be much easier. Not only that, but you can edit the tags for every single music file. The software includes multiple tools that can even do this for you, automatically!
Whether your MP3 collection is made up of podcasts, audiobooks, or plain old music, MediaMonkey offers consistency across the board. MediaMonkey will allow you to get your playlists in check, too, with full playlist creation and editing. In addition, every time you add music to the library folders on your hard drive, MediaMonkey will update it upon its next launch.
One final feature we would like to highlight is the ability to share your music across devices. So, if your computer is set up as your media server, you can connect your smartphone to it wirelessly and play files remotely. This means you don't even need to physically store the music on your smartphone, which makes organizing MP3s even easier! A Pro version is also available which adds many more features to the free version of the app.
Download: MediaMonkey for Windows (Free, Gold edition available)
Download: MediaMonkey for Android (Free, Pro edition available)
Note: MediaMonkey is also available for macOS as a Wineskin application
2. MusicBrainz Picard
MusicBrainz Picard is a cross-platform, open-source MP3 organizing software. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Haiku, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD. Best of all, it is completely free! That means you can get your music collection in order without shelling out for an expensive package. Plus, it supports a huge range of formats. So, whether you have MP3, WAV, or FLAC files, MusicBrainz Picard is on hand to get it all looking ship shape.
One of the best features, though, has to be the AcoustID song identifier. Even the most organized MP3 collection is going to have tracks with very little or no metadata. Perhaps even the track has been titled incorrectly. The AcoustID feature works by checking a track's "audio fingerprint" against a database of songs. If it finds a match, it will fill out the tag data for you, saving you the job.
Of course, you can still edit all of the metadata yourself, too. Clicking on an MP3 file that MusicBrainz Picard has found will bring up the editing pane. This will display the current data, along with any missing entries. You can add these yourself using text entry. The more metadata matches up with, say, other tracks on an album, the more organized your MP3 collection will be. You won't have random MP3 files littering your hard drive!
Download: MusicBrainz Picard (Free)
3. Mp3tag
Mp3tag is superb if you have a large number of rogue MP3 files. This is because it has a really cool batch converter. That means you can grab a whole bunch of your MP3s and let Mp3tag get busy sorting through them. You can also edit the metadata yourself. It is pretty similar to MusicBrainz Picard in terms of what it is capable of, aside from the batch converter. It can actually use the MusicBrainz database to grab file info.
Despite the name, Mp3tag supports a whole host of popular (and some less so) media formats. The app also supports cover art for albums, EPs, and singles. This will save the cover art to the file itself. So, not only will your music be organized, but it will also look the part as you scroll through your MP3s.
The app is also appealing as it allows you to export your library data. With HTML, RTF, and CSV exports all available, you will be able to see exactly what is in your collection. All in a nice tabular format. This will help you keep track of what is there and data can be organized in any way that suits you. You can download Mp3tag for Windows and macOS.
Download: Mp3tag (Free)
4. Apple Music
Some people love Apple Music and some people hate it. However, there is no denying the fact that it is a great tool for organizing your music. If you have an existing MP3 collection then, by-and-large, you can import it into Apple Music and let the program do all of the organizing for you. It will collect tracks from albums together under one album title, add art, and name all the tracks correctly. You just have to sit back and let Apple Music do the dirty work.
This isn't always a perfect exercise. If your ID3 tags aren't consistent, then Apple Music might not recognize that certain tracks belong to a collection. In this case, you might be best to use an ID3 tag remover first. This will grant you a clean slate, which means you can then run your music through Apple Music without a hitch. With ID3 tags removed, Apple Music should be able to arrange your music the way it should be arranged, if it couldn't in the first instance.
Obviously, Apple Music also has the advantage of being a multimedia player, so you can organize ALL of your media libraries with it. Once you have added your MP3 files to Apple Music, it is all available to see with nice, shiny artwork, correct titles, and correct artist names. Apple Music is a very functional MP3 organizer and player that will have your music collection looking tip-top, taking much of the heartache out of managing your media.
Download: Apple Music (Free)
Note: Windows users can still download iTunes (Free)
The Best MP3 Organizer for You
Whether you're a seasoned digital music pro, or you've only just entered the world of digital music from physical formats, there are plenty of tools out there to help you with your MP3 management.
Apple Music, combined with a tag remover, will organize your MP3 collection perfectly. So, all of your MP3 files will be ordered by artist name and broken down into album folders, making them very easy to find.
If you'd like a dedicated device to play your newly organized MP3 files, check out the best standalone MP3 players for all budgets.