File extensions

MP3's successor — higher audio quality at the same bitrate, and the default codec on YouTube, iTunes Store, and digital broadcasting.

Apple's uncompressed audio format, dating back to the original Macintosh. Still a workhorse in music production.

Lossless audio compression that reduces CD-quality recordings to roughly half the size of WAV. The de-facto choice for music archival.

AAC or ALAC audio wrapped in an MP4 container. Born from iTunes and best supported inside the Apple ecosystem.

The de-facto standard for music distribution for over 25 years. Playable on virtually anything with a speaker.

Xiph.Org's open media container. Hosts Vorbis (audio), Theora (video), or Opus (audio) streams — royalty-free and common in open-source pipelines.

The uncompressed audio container co-developed by Microsoft and IBM. A staple in music production and raw audio exchange.

Microsoft's proprietary audio codec. Paired with WMV, it was the default for Windows music services and voice recorders in the 2000s.