The .wav file format for music used to be the most popular for music files. Created by IBM, and used extensively throughout Microsoft Windows versions, .wav has always been there, but it just isn’t popular anymore. Much of this is due to the amount of space it takes up. Yes, WAVs are fairly high quality, but for most people they can’t tell the difference, and would much rather use MP3s and save space, so they can fit more songs on to their hard drive, CD, or music playing device.

If you still have WAV files, you probably want to convert them to MP3s to save space. Now, conversion sounds complicated and it is, but it doesn’t have to be for everyone. People and companies have made programs to do the dirty work for you, so all you have to do is choose the WAV file you want to convert to an MP3, and choose a couple of settings such as quality, which affects size, and then it takes a minute or two, sometimes even less, depending on your computer, and bam, you have a brand new MP3 converted from your WAV file.

There are many different programs that will perform this task for you. The most recommended piece of software on the internet right now is CD-DA X-Tractor – WAV to MP3 Converter; it is free and open-source. It also works very, very well. It even comes with an audio ripper to rip music right off your CDs. Then, there is Softdiv MP3 to WAV Converter which does a lot more, but it does have a price. There is a trial version that you can use for a bit for free if you’d like to test it out. Another option is MP3 to WAVE Converter Plus, which is very good, and converts files very quickly. It is also a paid program, but does have a 10 file usage trial version for your testing purposes. One very popular program is Easy CD Ripper. Despite its name, it does actually do conversion with a full range of file types, as well as ripping CD audio into a plenty of different types of files. The only downside is that you have to pay for it, but the wide range of features makes it worth it if you’ll be using them.

That’s just a short list and rundown of programs, but it should get you started, and you’ll probably find the program you want to use out of these four. There are, however, tons of other programs available, and they are just a Google away. Don’t be discouraged from rummaging through them all, you might just find a hidden gem of a program.