Generally speaking, there are two kinds of music fans – people who’ve got a few great songs they like to put on for their morning commute, and people who really immerse themselves in the culture and style that music has going for it. For the second group of people, Groove Music might be a little bit underwhelming. Groove is, of course, an absolutely functional program, and one that most music lovers on Windows 10 have most likely acquainted themselves with already. For those who want a bit more form along with their function, however, Dopamine is an application that might just take Groove’s place.
Dopamine, which you can download directly through the application’s site, offers a ton of really nice visuals for music fans. Besides the generally sleek design, you also can do tons of customization, including changing the color theme (yes, sticking to your Windows color is an option) and showing a themed border along the window for added effect. You also get to change options like song rating, song order, minimization behavior, and startup behavior.
When it comes to making a music player, there’s only so much that you can do. Both Groove and Dopamine are perfectly viable and functional for the average music lover. The difference comes entirely in the presentation, and depending on your taste, Dopamine can offer a very appealing alternative to Microsoft’s music player. Where Groove plays songs without much fanfare, the little touches in Dopamine make it feel like a more dynamic experience. When you play a song through Dopamine, you get the feeling that you’re a DJ queuing up a track – the album art slides up, the progress bar moves along with your theme color of choice, and the visualizer bars bop along to whatever song you’re playing.
When all is said and done, there’s no accounting for taste. If you don’t care all that much about what’s flashy and stylish, you can probably give Dopamine a pass. If you’re looking for something that offers a bit more fun in its presentation than Groove does, however, this might be just the application that you’ve been looking for.
