Sonique is a free audio player that you'll either love or loathe. On the plus side, it offers an animated high-color interface that looks as cool as your favorite tunes sound. Not only can it play CD audio and .wav files but it supports today's hottest digital sound formats, including .mpg, .mp2, .mp3, .mod, .xm, .it, and all Windows Media files. It also includes a full-featured playlist editor, several cool-looking output visualization modes, a 20-band equalizer with spline-based level adjustment, and pitch, balance, and speed controls. However, some users will be put off by the very thing that makes Sonique look so slick -- because it strays from the typical window design with nary a pull-down or right-click menu in sight, it takes a little while to figure out. Still, once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun to use -- and look at. Watch out Winamp!
