Windows Media Player
Is WMP bad?
The audiophile community things so. This is not a high-end player.
As usual, you will find a lot of strong opinions and very few facts.
The negative image of Microsoft might be a major reason for the dislike of WMP.
Interface
The interface is a basic one. Functionality is sufficient but you can’t configure it.
Cover art
All cover art is down sampled to 240x240.
If you manually added images in a higher resolution, WMP12 is not your player.
File formats
Support for lossless formats was limited to WAV and WMAL.
As the tagging of WAV is rudimentary, I advise against using this format.
Today WMP supports FLAC
Tagging
You can select tracks and do a manual lookup. As WMP uses AMG, the results are very good. If you are tagging classical, I do think AMG one of the best.
Streaming
Microsoft is one of the DLNA members.
My (limited) experience with DLNA and Win7/WMP12 is positive.
Sound quality
WASAPI is Microsoft’s own ASIO.
WMP only supports Direct Sound.
If you want automatic sample rate switching, WMP is not your choice.