Subject: Sincere Appreciation and Feature Suggestions from a Loyal User - EDMonk

[EDMonkey]

Dear AIMP Development Team,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is EDMonkey, and I am writing to you today not only as a long-time user but as a genuine admirer of the AIMP player. Across the vast landscape of media players, AIMP has consistently been my application of choice. Its unparalleled audio fidelity, remarkably efficient resource usage, and deeply customizable interface have provided me with a pure and immersive music listening experience for years. Furthermore, I deeply respect your commitment to a true multi-platform vision, with robust versions not just for Windows, but also for Android and other systems. It demonstrates a team dedicated to serving a global user base.

The suggestions I present below stem from a place of deep appreciation and a hopeful vision for AIMP's future as the ultimate audio playback solution. They are ideas I believe could elevate an already exceptional product to even greater heights.

1. Enhanced Library Management & Metadata Intelligence

Advanced Metadata Parsing Engine: A highly requested feature among power users is more control over how artist names are parsed. I envision a system where users could define custom delimiters (like commas, semicolons, or "&") for splitting the "Artist" field. Crucially, this should be paired with an "Exception Whitelist." For example, I could set "&" as a delimiter but add "Dodge & Fuski" to the whitelist, ensuring it remains recognized as a single artist entity. This would elegantly solve a common pain point with collaborative tracks and band names containing delimiters.

Distinction Between Artist & Album Artist: While these could remain merged in the main library view for browsing, clarifying their roles internally would be powerful. The "Album Artist" field could specifically define the primary releasing entity for an album, which would then power a more structured artist detail page.

2. A Unified and Powerful Artist Detail Page

Clicking any artist (whether from the general "Artist" or "Album Artist" list) should lead to a unified detail page with three core sections:

All Songs: A comprehensive list of all tracks the artist has contributed to, with the unique ability to sort by a "Popularity" score (e.g., (Play Count + 1) * (Total Listen Duration + 1)).

Released EPs & Albums: This section would only display content if the artist is the designated "Album Artist," providing a clean discography view.

Featured Appearances: Showcasing tracks where the artist is credited as a collaborator.

3. Sophisticated Album and Library Viewing

Library-Wide Album Cover: The ability to set a unified album cover for the library view that only modifies the database, without altering the original embedded cover art in the audio files. When drilling into the album, individual tracks could still display their unique embedded art if present.

Critical Feedback on Library Sorting: I've encountered a significant usability issue in the library view, particularly when using detailed list views with album thumbnails. The current sorting logic seems to struggle with hierarchical metadata. There is a conflict when sorting by "Year" versus sorting by "Track Number," which is exacerbated for multi-disc albums.

When sorting the main library by Year to view my music chronologically, the internal order of tracks within an album is often lost, destroying the intended listening sequence.

Conversely, sorting by Track Number to preserve album order completely disrupts the chronological year-based view of the library.

The desired behavior would be a primary and secondary sorting mechanism that respects the album structure. For example: Primary sort = Year -> Secondary sort = Album Artist/Album -> Tertiary sort = Disc Number -> Quaternary sort = Track Number. This would present a library sorted by year, where each album's tracks are kept in their correct order.

4. Modernized Playback & Visualization Experience

Dedicated Full-Screen Mode: Clicking the cover art thumbnail in the player bar could open a rich, full-screen view (application full-screen, not system). This mode would integrate large artwork, synchronized lyrics, audio visualizations, and detailed, clickable file metadata.

Enhanced Desktop Lyrics: A standalone, customizable, and always-on-top desktop lyrics window would be a fantastic addition for many users.

5. Advanced Features for the Power User

DSP/Plugin Management: Enhancing the already powerful plugin system with a more visual chain or manager for VST plugins would be welcomed by audio enthusiasts.

Playback Statistics & Insights: More detailed and visualized insights into listening habits over time would be fascinating for users like myself.

I am fully aware that implementing such features represents a significant undertaking, especially while maintaining excellence across multiple platforms. These suggestions are offered in a spirit of supportive enthusiasm, from a user who genuinely cares about the project's future.

Thank you for your time, and for the incredible work you have done over the years. AIMP remains an indispensable part of my digital life.

Sincerely,

EDMonkey
A Loyal AIMP User

[CkopoxoD]

Critical Feedback on Library Sorting: I've encountered a significant usability issue in the library view, particularly when using detailed list views with album thumbnails. The current sorting logic seems to struggle with hierarchical metadata. There is a conflict when sorting by "Year" versus sorting by "Track Number," which is exacerbated for multi-disc albums.

When sorting the main library by Year to view my music chronologically, the internal order of tracks within an album is often lost, destroying the intended listening sequence.

Conversely, sorting by Track Number to preserve album order completely disrupts the chronological year-based view of the library.

The desired behavior would be a primary and secondary sorting mechanism that respects the album structure. For example: Primary sort = Year -> Secondary sort = Album Artist/Album -> Tertiary sort = Disc Number -> Quaternary sort = Track Number. This would present a library sorted by year, where each album's tracks are kept in their correct order.

AIMP already has what you need:

In the Music Library and Tag Editor you can sort the table by multiple columns: to do this just click on column with pressed CTRL key.