That is funny. I am far from computer suave as some of you and I do not find winamp confusing at all. As far as visualizations it has many that can be installed. My favorite is the classic spectrum analyzer. Here is an example.

i'm using itunes. can't live without it.

iTunes. I even disable WMP on my machine.

Thanks for the replies all!
I do use iTunes, but mainly for just managing my idevices, as a stand alone player, i just don't care for it.
I tried Xion, and it was too minimalistic for my needs.
I'll try both MediaMonkey and Spotify.

As for other means, i don't listen to music at home except on my PC. i have good speakers (Altec Lansing 5.1) and Winamp does provide for many opions to fine tune your experience. The only other place i listen to music is in my car. Ive spared little expense in that department, and if i could take all that gear and have it in my study, i would!

An oh by the way . . . DFX is a nice add on for improving the sound.  There is a free version and a paid version, The paid version is well worth the money.

If you're going digital, then MediaMonkey is probably the better choice.

Started using Winamp back around 2000. Eventually got a pro license. Now I use a combination of Zune and Winamp. I'll go for Winamp when I want to add vizualizations but stick to Zune otherwise.

To me, creating playlists is a pain. Zune has an function called "smart DJ" that lets you pick a song and create a playlist based on it. Customizable as to how many and whether from your local collection or it can include songs from the Zune service if you have it. I then use a utility called ZPL to convert the playlists to Winamp (not w/Zune Service songs) format and enjoy my visualizations on Winamp. The Zune software doesn't have the equalizer or all the available DSP addons but it has great sound quality (go figure) and the service used to be a great deal when it included 10 free songs (320 cbr) every month for $15 US.

DesktopX Player....duh..

JRiver, hands down the best. Well worth the money.

Are the paid media players way better than the free ones? Or does it just make people feel good buying software?

Basically most of my software are freeebies. I use two media players. Winamp for testing my smx's and Zion for the bells and whistles. (read skins)

I have always used free media players. Iv'e never needed anything over the years that Winamp free has not provided. That being said, my requirements of a media player (for music at least) are very small. If it has reasonable album management and plays music, it's on the list!
(i use VLC for all video requirements)

I have no problem buying software though, but it needs to be something that cannot be done or found any other way.

Is anyone using, or has used Foobar 2000? it was on a recommended list on Cnet. Ive had a look but any feedback would be appreciated.

Foobar is mostly used for FLAC playback, but also is a good mp3  player, very light footprint however, not sure it's still supported. I'd choose this if I used a free player first above all other freeware players.

Yes, I feel good buying software that is worth it and meets my expectations as a consumer...plus I'm supporting furthur development for a quality product.