Mufin MusicFinder Base

Mufin MusicFinder Base's playlist builder is a breeze to use. Just import your collection, select the track or tracks that suit your mood, and let it select songs for you. Importing a big collection the first time can take a while, but subsequent updates are less time-consuming. I started with a deliberately small and eclectic collection of 300 tracks, which led to some odd associations (Bjork and Tchaikovsky, anyone?). At about 500 tracks, the playlists got much more cohesive, and occasionally a little spooky in its accuracy.

At one thing, though, Mufin MusicFinder Base excels. It digs into those forgotten tracks and finds the ones that are musically similar to your selected favorites. It's especially good for unearthing those gems hidden on uneven albums, such as soundtracks. On one memorable playlist, Mufin MusicFinder Base pulled tracks from albums including 80s pop, 90s alternative, an anime soundtrack, big band, heavy metal, jazz piano, and samba--and it worked. The result was an ear-friendly collection that I'm sure I wouldn't have come up with on my own.

Note: This free demo version creates playlists of only 74 minutes. To make longer playlists, you can upgrade to the full $20 version.

--Laura Blackwell