To return to the OP’s question: there are three phases to go through.
Buy CD-reader, connect to computer
Rip CDs = convert to audio files
Organise audio files in a simple to use way with simple player.
Step 1 was discussed above.
Step 2: I’d advise something like dbPoweramp or so, that automatically creates proper names and ‘tags’ (identifying information of the audio file). This saves a lot of time, otherwise you need to do this yourself for each CD. Those programs download the names from specialised Internet-based libraries, AFAIK this is all completely legal.
Step 3: For organisation the usual method is each CD in its own folder. Then you need a program to play the files. I understand that you want to do so on your computer, not on an audio system. There are lots of programs to play the audio files organised in folders (and make playlists). I use Audirvana, but that is changing to a subscription model that I would not recommend. There are lists of alternatives, such as https://alternativeto.net/software/audirvana-plus/?platform=windows, also containing free players like foobar that I’ve heard good things about. Maybe someone else can recommend from their own experience. Once you have ripped the files, you can of course simply download several players to see which one you like best.
I had been using a program called CDex since 2010 or so that did all that, but first the online database and then the whole app broke, I think it got overtaken by a shady company and turned into malware. Since then, I have made good experiences with Exact Audio Copy.
Note: @Tusculan may have given the impression that you need separate software for these two steps. That’s an option, but there’s software readily available that will do all of this (rip, organize, and play), in a relatively automatic way. (I’ve long used Windows Media Player. There may be better options, but it is at least adequate.)
Another vote for dbPoweramp - It looks up several sources for the metadata (the tags that become part of the mp3 file) such as Discogs, MusicBrainz, and in a slick interface allows you pick and choose which ones are best.
It also uses multiple encoders so that you can rip into different files at the same time - I save my rips as both FLAC (lossless format for archival purposes) and MP3 (lossy and smaller files for my portable devices to play)
In conjunction with dbPoweramp I also use MusicBee as a library manager. Both these programs will cost you a few bucks but very well worth it.
Since this is IMHO, this is not only OK but in fact absolutely necessary, as proven by the discussion of “copy-protected” CDs. However, nobody wants to be a legal test case, not just to listen to music in their car, anyway. Remember the brouhaha over “hacking tools” in Germany? Remember DVD Jon? The people who got sued are the ones publishing ripping software, though, not users who use it for legal purposes — at least, I have never heard of such a thing.
Anyway, again, ripping CDs in Canada is explicitly legal.
PS to tag and sort music files I have used this program once or twice
Are audio copies a perfect (bit-for-bit) copy or does the copy software make an MP3 of the audio which is an MP3 and you get the copy of a copy of a copy problem? (really asking)
The copy software makes an exact, bit-for-bit copy. If you further compress it, that is up to you; there are also lossless compression formats like FLAC.
MP3 (with appropriate settings) is fine if you want to listen to the music, but not designed for further editing and manipulation.
You can make a bit-for-bit copy of what is on the CD, but that wastes space. A FLAC file compresses the audio data from the CD, but retains all of the audio information. It is lossless.
An MP3 (and M4A, OGG, etc.) are lossy compressors. They remove some of the audio data to make the file much smaller. When working well, they only remove parts of the audio data that are unimportant, for example parts that are unlikely to be audible by human ears. There are adjustments that can be made to the compression to lose more or less data, at the expense of the files being larger.
Copying a FLAC or MP3 file from one place to another is bit-for-bit, just like copying any other computer file. They will be identical.
The MP3 equivalent of the copy of a copy problem is converting from one lossy format to another. For example from a high quality 256kb MP3 to a lower quality 128kb MP3 will create something worse than just converting from the original CD to a 128KB MP3.
Several very important caveats. Many audio systems and ears will not be able to hear the difference between FLAC, 256kb MP3, and 128KB MP3, so it is often not worth getting too hung up on the minutia of digital audio quality. Between the road noise and such, a car is pretty poor listening environment, a bit of lossy compression is not a big deal.
It is possible to distinguish a FLAC (or original CD) and a 128kb MP3 on a good quality home system.
Well, yes. If we are getting into specific settings, 128k is not optimal for MP3 (too low), and in fact you should not select a fixed bit-rate at all; my advice is to activate the “extreme” preset, or even “standard”, and let the encoder work its magic.
I agree about 128kpbs. Admittedly, I used it several decades ago when storage was limited and expensive. About a decade ago though, as it became much cheaper, I went and re-ripped my entire collection at “higher” quality which came out to around 192kbps. Which is the point at where sitting in my house on moderate speakers, or on headphones, I -personally- can’t tell the difference between the “live” CD and the encoded one.
I just ordered the Gotega drive. I am not sure how to start using the WMP. I loaded it but I am not sure how use it. It showed me the one music file I had (a set of my grandson’s jazz group I had previously downloaded).
When you have the drive connected to your computer and drop an audio CD into it, WMP will appear automatically. If not, start it then. Once it’s on-screen you’ll see the top menu includes something about CDs or “rip”, and meanwhile the lower portion of the screen will be populated with the list of tracks on that CD.
Select “rip”, tweak any settings, and click [ok]. The data will be transferred to the PC while the music plays. Once it’s done with the whole CD, eject the CD and put in the next one.
Without a drive attached to my computer right now I can’t get more detailed than that. But that’ the general idea. It’s pretty self-explanatory once you’ve actually got an audio CD stuck in a compatible drive attached to the PC.
Minor edit for @LSLGuy’s comment, these days in Windows Operating System it’s generally just called “Media Player” not Windows Media Player. (just in case).
Sorry to bug you @LSLGuy but I just got the machine put a CD in and ran WMP (Media Player seems to be a different animal and has no rip option). I ran rip, it ripped the first three (of 14) tracks on the CD and then I switched to reading mail and when I came back it had stalled on track 4 and nothing I could think of doing would restart it. Any thoughts.
My first guess is the CD has a dirty spot that is preventing it from being read. I would try cleaning it, first by wiping it from center to edge (not radially!) with a clean, soft cloth, either dry or moistened with water. If that doesn’t work, this WikiHow article suggests some more advanced cleaning methods:
I would also try ripping some other, different CDs, to better determine whether the problem is with the CD or the device.
A second problem is that when I load the Windows Media Center, it no longer has a rip button. There seems to be no way of changing that. My son is coming to visit in a couple weeks and I will get him to fix it. If only one of my grandkids lived here.