For those of us who like who like to rip their MP3s at the highest quality possible. For the longest time, I didn't just use the "Import" function of iTunes. I use iTunes-LAME to rip MP3's encoded using the LAME encoder which is considered to be the best MP3 encoder around. NOTE: Version 2.0.8 of iTunes-LAME (from VersionTracker or MacUpdate) DOES NOT work properly with iTunes 7.4. You need to download the new version, moved to Google Code (and it's now Universal, too!) from here. Also note, if you've used previous versions of iTunes-LAME, just installing it under ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts won't work. The full installation instructions (with the workaround described here), is as follows: Unzip the archive, then copy the application to ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts. Right-click on the iTunes icon and select "Show package contents". Go to "Contents" then under that, "Resources". Make an alias of "Import with LAME....scpt" (right-click on the file and select "Make Alias"). Move this alias back into ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts. You can combine steps 4 & 5 by holding down Cmd + Option (the Apple key + Alt) while dragging Import with LAME....scpt to ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts. Now, when you launch iTunes, you should see a script icon between Window & Help. Insert a CD, select the tracks, and then click on that icon and select "Import with LAME..." and enjoy high-quality encoded MP3s! (I'd attach a screen shot but am having trouble uploading. Anyway, hope it's clear enough!)
Funny how I was prepared to defend iTunes because I thought you were gonna say iTunes was lame lol. I'm gonna try this out, thanks!
Hi, eydzhey. Glad you got it to work! Added instructions on how to create an alias to the original post na.
Hi, tweek. Nope. AAC is different format and iTunes uses its own encoder (actually, the QuickTime encoder I'm led to believe) for importing to AAC. LAME, well, is specifically for MP3 encoding. As to the merits of MP3 over AAC, the jury's out on that but from what I've gathered while AAC is a newer format with better potential, that potential hasn't been realized yet. LAME encoder, being a more mature and tried out encoder still beats even Apple's AAC encoder especially at high bitrates. For more info, see this thread on the Blacktree forums.
