Well, I cannot suggest anything else because I also use VLC on all my computers. It's pretty much the most versatile music and video player ever made. It's also very simple to use.
I really don't like VLC, I tried it in the past and it didn't suit my needs at all. I now use Foobar2000 as my main music player and Media Player Classic Home Cinema for anything video related. They both work extremely well for what they're made for, and in my opinion there aren't any better players out there, and believe me, I have looked.
I totally agree that VLC is the best thing that has ever happened to media players on computer. I found Vlc to be real simple to use. I like the way that it makes it easy to get your videos up and running. The only problem that i have with VLC is that i am not really able to have all my songs in a library that is neatly organised. So for that i would prefer itunes. But the efficiency of VLC makes it a necessity.
Believe it or not I use XBox Music on Windows 8.1. It integrates quite well with the system (obviously) and works pretty well. The only issue I have is that it glitches out and crashes sometimes, but after reinstalling it yesterday it seems to be working fine again. It's pretty good for someone who's just looking for basic functionality in their music player.
I'm using Windows media player, in combination with Gom player. It's what I all need. I use windows media player to play mp3, and for the movies. The Gom player is there, when i can't play a video on the windows media player. Also VLC player is great, but the first third party player i learned to use was Gom player.
I have always used cleaner media player and I think it suits all my needs. I think it makes all video and audio viewing very easy. I have heard a lot about the other media player but I have never thought of using them. It is not worth it, and I think it is of not much use.
I use AIMP3 to play music, besides streaming with Spotify. When it comes to movies I just use VLC, it's open source and very good compatibility wise. I have a very extensive library of music and movies so I like keeping them in order inside a player that's good with both, so I also use Kodi (XBMC) to play files.
On my operating systems since I have had Windows XP, I have always used a whole host of different media players on my computers? Yes, I have always used the built-in Windows Media Player, because it comes with the operating system, and why not use it? But there are certain itches that Windows Media Player just doesn't scratch - codecs being the main issue, as well as not playing certain file types? MKV files are becoming more and more popular online these days, and people have to download the Vlc player to play them. I enjoy using VLC player as a main media player, as well as WMP.
I used winamp for a long time in the early 2000's. But after a while I stumbled on a little program called Foobar. I've been using it for almost 7 years and I am very pleased with it. The customization is awesome and it offers a possibility of sorting songs on a lot of filters and it's free too !
Windows' default player is good enough, and easy to use. Simply create a playlist and let it sound. I also have VLC, but I rarely use it. Only when, for whatever reason, the default player doesn't work on the song/video. No complaints for either program.
PLC is a reputable program, I tried it once not long enough to be a critic though, I use J River media Centre myself and I'm really quite pleased with it, It handles all media's files including videos with different formats. What I like about J River is that It handles videos, images, and music files, it's also great to look at, the only drawback is, it's not a free program, if you're looking for free media player, you can stick with the one that comes with Windows are you can try Winamp, it's free and it's really powerful.
I personally only use iTunes, but that's because you HAVE to use iTunes when you have an iPod. Before I got my iPod, I just used the basic Windows Music Player. I have VLC for testing out albums I've downloaded, it works very nice. But yeah, iTunes is my go too, in spite of it's weird cataloging flaws.
I'm not sure whether the media players I'm currently using are better than VLC but they played the videos I've downloaded thus far plus a bunch of other media files like mp3, mkv, mp4, wav and the like. Sometimes I use Real Player. Sometimes I use GOM. When both players need update, I settle for Windows Media Player. It's a bit limited but it does accommodate a number of the basic files especially the avi ones.
I have Window Media Player on my computer. It's served me well since I was young and I don't ever plan on getting rid of it. I had iTunes for a little while but it took up too much space on my computer. It always froze for some reason as well.
Windows Media and iTunes do a nice job - VLC is good for playing videos but I have to agree with some previous posters, I wouldn't be playing audio on it, it just seems like a waste to me. For mobile uses I would recommend using Google Play and use the Play Music app. It plays nice with PC, phones, chromebooks or other mobile devices. Has most of the same features as iTunes or Windows Media.
I also use VLC and I share the same sentiment that it's the best because in my opinion it's just the best. It's so easy to use an I wouldn't need to have anything else to be able to play a media file. It's always able to play all the media file, though not all. But those that are frequently shared.