Have you ever wanted to read along with the lyrics of your favorite songs?

If you have an Internet connection, you can do a quick web search to find accurate lyrics sheets, but many computer users see this as an unnecessary and needlessly complex task. Online lyric databases are often inaccurate and they certainly don't offer an intuitive way to read lyrics as you're listening to a song.

MiniLyrics is a plugin that aims to fix this problem. It works with iTunes, Windows Media Player and Winamp, displaying a scrolling list of lyrics for thousands of different songs. The plugin automatically loads lyrics using the metadata in your MP3s, WMAs or other audio files. It offers support for a number of different languages and worked well with all three media players in our testing. You can navigate through lyrics easily, scrolling one line at a time to avoid spoiling upcoming lines. It's an intuitive, useful tool that perfectly accomplishes its advertised function.

The big downside of this plugin is its regular nag screens, which are unforgivably annoying. Every time you start the plugin, MiniLyrics will ask you whether you want to register. The plugin's programmers should consider removing these nag screens from future versions to avoid scaring off impatient users.

Despite this annoyance, MiniLyrics works well and should delight fans of lyrical music. It's fast, accurate and a much better option than advertisement-riddled online lyric databases. Anyone who regularly reads along with lyrics while listening to digital music should give this simple tool a try.