› iTunes Tutorial
Welcome to our iTunes Tutorial — iTunes is Apple's software that allows you to purchase, import and manage your music. iTunes comes pre-installed in all new Macs, and is available as a free download to Windows users from the iTunes download page on Apple's website. iTunes also lets you manage and sync your iPods and iPhone from a single location, create ringtones, etc. Our iTunes tutorials will teach you this and much more.
iTunes, on its way to become the #1 digital entertainment seller in the world
When we first started writing our iTunes tutorials, iTunes was still used by a small portion of people, most of whom were located in the United States. In 2008, the iTunes online music store has become the #1 music store in the United States; in 2009, iTunes has become the #1 music store in the world. Given how cheap and convenient iTunes is for music, and practical for other forms of entertainment (audiobooks, TV shows, movies, etc.), the iTunes store was poised to become the largest online distributor of digital media.
Made by Apple, iTunes is nonetheless available for both Mac and Windows operating systems, which explains in part its skyrocketing success. Our iTunes tutorials cover both versions of iTunes, and indicate features specific to Windows or Mac where applicable. But the overwhelming of iTunes features work exactly the same way on Mac and Windows; unless specified otherwise, each iTunes tutorial applies to both operating systems. Screenshots used throughout our tutorials are taken either on Mac or Windows. iTunes System Requirements: the latest version of iTunes (currently iTunes 9) can run on Mac OS X 10.4 or later, and Windows XP SP2, Vista, and Windows 7; iTunes comes pre-installed on all Mac's, and is a free download for Windows users.
Our iTunes tutorials
Our iTunes tutorial is regularly updated to reflect the addition of new functionality in the iTunes software, and new content is uploaded regularly. We welcome your suggestions and donations to keep fresh content coming. Each tutorial is illustrated, and includes beginner tutorials and advanced tutorials alike. No need to master iTunes before reading our tutorials, we make no assumptions: you will learn how to use iTunes by going along, and picking the tutorials you are interested in. Each iTunes tutorial is independent, and links to other tutorials are provided, where relevant.
iTunes main features tutorial — These tutorials give you a in-depth overview of iTunes' main features, including the Browser, Mini Player mode, the MiniStore, using the Equalizer and Visualizer, and customizing album artwork. Not necessarily a tutorial for beginners these tutorials give you an in-depth overview of iTunes' main features. Read our iTunes main features tutorial.
iTunes playlists tutorial — iTunes lets you organize your music however you like, using playlists and smart playlists; while standard playlists are mere "virtual folders", smart folders on the other hand are quite powerful, and allow you to instruct iTunes to display songs, TV shows, or movies in a certain way. Get started on playlists with our iTunes playlists tutorial.
iTunes Store tutorial — Most of the content you will watch or listen to in iTunes will come from the iTunes Store: our series of tutorials on the iTunes Store will show you how to make the best of the store, explain your purchasing options, how to manage your account, or use the Wish List feature. You will also learn how to manage your account, including changing your payment information, authorizing or deauthorizing computers, etc. Discover this and more in our iTunes Store tutorial.
Overview: the iTunes interface
Here's a screenshot of iTunes' main window, which will likely look slightly different than the version of iTunes currently installed on your computer: (as our tutorials progress, screenshots sometimes show an earlier version of iTunes - unless that impacts the meaning of the tutorial, original iTunes screenshots are kept.) 
We will discuss iTunes' interface in detail in the next tutorials, but we will mention that it is composed of two panes: the left pane contains iTunes navigation links (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks ... iTunes Store, etc.) - and the Playlists you have created inside iTunes, besides the built-in playlists. Each of these links (or buttons), when clicked, will load the corresponding target in the right pane: clicking on iTunes Store will load the browsing component of iTunes in the right pane, allowing you to browse and purchase digital content. Likewise, clicking on Music will load all the songs you purchased, or have transferred to iTunes as MP3 files, or from a CD.
The left pane of iTunes' main window is organized in three groups: the Library contains all content you purchased (or subscribe to, in the case of podcasts and iTunes U). The Store section includes the iTunes Store link, the Purchased link (which reveals everything you purchased in iTunes, regardless of media type), and Downloads, which is only visible when you have pending downloads from the iTunes store (like season pass episode downloads).