I'm sure you know by now what an MP3 song is. Like many students, you probably have most of your favorite songs stored on your computer as MP3 files. But does your MP3 player allow you to create MP3 files from your favorite CDs? Are you curious what MP3 players are available and what the advantages are of each? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, read on.

First, for those of you unfamiliar with MP3s, let's bring you up to date. An MP3 file is a sound file, usually a song. Although there are other formats to store music, MP3 is the most popular because it has the best sound quality and takes up the least amount of space. The sound quality of an MP3 file is about equivalent to that of a song on a CD.

There are many different means of obtaining MP3 files. It is legal to use Napster to download non-copyrighted MP3 files or files of songs you own on CD. The problem with using Napster is that there is no way of knowing which songs are copyrighted. Besides, by the time this column is printed, there is a good chance Napster will be shut down.

Here are some long-term methods for obtaining MP3s that will still be available even after Napster bites the dust. First, try to do an Internet search.

You can visit a search engine like Google.com and type in the name of the song you are looking for and "MP3." You might not get great results, but it is worth a shot.

Or you can try using MP3 search engines. Consider trying Lycos Music (http://mp3.lycos.com/) and eMP3Finder (http://www.emp3finder.com/). Sometimes you'll get lucky and find your song.

If you want some great non-copyrighted material by up-and-coming bands, visit MP3.com and similar sites for guaranteed music files.

Perhaps the quickest and easiest way to obtain MP3 files of your favorite songs is to simply create MP3s using CDs you already own. This is called "ripping" the song. This is a relatively easy process if you have the right software, and a CD burner is not necessary. Here are some free MP3 programs I tested, two of which contain rippers.

Perhaps the most popular and well-known MP3 program is Nullsoft Winamp. It is relatively easy to use and only offers the bare essentials.

Winamp only takes up a portion of your screen, and it doesn't use a significant chunk of system memory when it runs. You can use it to play MP3 files as well as CDs. Its playlist feature is helpful, as you can organize and save lists of your favorite songs. Also, if you want to spice things up, you can shuffle the songs and change the "skin," or appearance, of the software.

Winamp has separate screens for the player, equalizer, playlist, and browser. These screens can be resized and attached in any method you choose.

Winamp's main disadvantage is a lack of a useful CD ripper or burner. Although you can listen to MP3 files on Winamp, there is no way to create new MP3 files from your own CDs. Still, Winamp is a good overall program. To download it for free visit www.winamp.com

RealJukebox, created by the same company that brought you the RealPlayer, is a good quality MP3 player. This program is relatively easy to use and has many great features. First-time MP3 users may want to use RealJukebox over Winamp because of its user-friendly interface.

Like every other program reviewed, RealJukebox features links to listen to live radio stations, more information on the artist that you are listening to and different skins. Like Winamp, custom skins give the program distinctly different appearances, but do not change the function of the program.

One of RealJukebox's main advantages is its ability to easily rip CDs to form music files. The disadvantage is that these files are not MP3s. They are high-quality music files stored in a special RealJukebox format, and can only be played with RealJukebox. Although it is quick and easy to create these song files, you won't be able to play them with anything but RealJukebox.

Exploring the features of RealJukebox is worth taking a few minutes to download and install the software from the Real web site (www.real.com).

It wouldn't be fair to look at the RealJukebox without comparing it to the Windows Media Player. Long considered Real's main competition, Media Player also offers a very user-friendly interface and a decent program for beginners.

The features of Media Player are very similar to RealJukebox, however I think RealJukebox does a better job of managing playlists.

Media Player's main disadvantage is the lack of a CD ripper. If this program had a way to create MP3 files, I would recommend it as highly as I would recommend RealJukebox. Unfortunately, without this crucial component, Media Player is not worth using when RealJukebox is available.

Still, if you want to try using MediaPlayer you can download a free copy of the latest version from www.microsoft.com. It is a great program for playing MP3s and other audio and video formats.

If you are already familiar with all of the features of the MP3 players I mentioned so far and are ready for a deluxe player with all the options, Media Jukebox 6.0 is a must-have.

Media Jukebox can be downloaded for free (http://www.software.mp3.com/software/featured/windows/rippers/) and is the music-lover's dream come true.

This program features a professional CD copier, writer, recorder, and converter. Their motto is "the one who plays it all," and it's true. This program will play and record in any music format imaginable.

As soon as you download this program it automatically searches your entire hard drive for music files. It then organizes all of your music by artist and places it on a frame on the left side of the screen. The program does this with amazing accuracy.

If you want to rip MP3 files from one of your favorite CDs, just pop it in your CD-ROM drive and click on the "CD copy" icon. A list of the songs will appear. Check the ones you want to copy. Then, under "Options", specify the location of where you want to save the song to as well as what you want to name each track. Click "Okay" and then "Copy", and before you know it your favorite CD songs will be available in MP3 format.

One other MP3 player I tested was the MusicMatch Jukebox. This program plays MP3 formatted songs, as well as songs from most other music formats. It also includes an Internet radio feature and a decent CD ripper.

It sounds like MusicMatch would be an ideal MP3 player, yet it was the most disappointing of all the programs I tested. This is because the program constantly froze on my computer. I tried restarting my computer and then redownloaded and reinstalled the program. The same problem occurred.

If you still want to try MusicMatch Jukebox, download the player from Musicmatch.com (www.musicmatch.com). The program has an excellent CD ripper. Good luck getting your CDs ripped before it freezes, though.

My recommendation to digital music beginners is to download the RealJukebox and use it for everything.

This way, you can rip songs off of your favorite CDs into the Real format and mix them in playlists with other MP3 songs. RealJukebox has many great features, is easy to use and provides quality music playback.

My recommendation to digital music veterans is to download MediaJukebox and use it as a ripper and to copy music files. You probably already have Winamp, but if you don't you should download it and use it to play your MP3s.

This program takes up a small amount of memory, allows you to organize playlists easily and has some cool custom skins (including some PSU skins).

I want to thank those of you who have emailed me questions. Keep them coming, and I will feature them next week.

Outlook Express or Eudora? That is the question.

Tune in next week and I'll weigh the pros and cons of each e-mail program to help you decide which one is right for you.