foobar2000 is pretty lean and mean too, though also Windows only.

But it doesn't whip the llama's ass.

The ui is stuck in 2001 though and it still doesn't have the ability to play/pause/skip from the aero tile.

For me, the no-BS standard looking UI was the reason to choose Foobar, as compared to Win Media Player or Winamp and other weird looking ones. (Remember Sonique? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_%28media_player%29)

As for aero tiles... That's a Win8 thing? I guess it's a valid complaint. I think you can set global keyboard shortcuts for those actions, if that helps.

Aero is a vista+ thing. Hover over a playing vlc in the taskbar and you see skip/pause/play.

Foobar is classic to the cost of UX. We've figured out for a long time now bigger buttons are important, there's no need for separate pause/play especially if stop is right there.

It doesn't need a slew of crappy gradients and fancy shit, Just drag the interface forward a decade that's all. Usable with a touch screen should be a minimum now.

Also, no other music player has the MMD3 skin. Best top-bar music player ever.

That brought back some great memories thanks!