When comparing Musique vs XMMS, the Slant community recommends Musique for most people. In the question“What are the best audio players for UNIX-like systems?” Musique is ranked 11th while XMMS is ranked 38th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Can handle very large local music libraries
Pro Minimal UI
The UI for Musique is pretty minimal. By not throwing every option in the book into the application, the developers are able to keep the interface clear of any clutter.
Pro Consistent queue simplifies what's playing next
There is a queue on the right side of the player, which shows you what is coming up next. This makes it easy to add a new song or remove a song before it plays to be sure that you/your guests stay in the groove. You can also slowly transition to different genres, not to mention plan ahead and adapt as you need to.
Pro Support for Winamp themes
XMMS is able to use any Winamp skin available.
Pro Simple and familiar music player
Many users should be pretty familiar with the interface as it has been built to match that of the popular Winamp player.
Cons
Con No differentation between Album Artist / Track Artist
Albums are sorted via "Album Artist" but each deviating "Track Artist" creates a new album handle. Very bad when you have album tracks where the filename consists of the typical "Artist #1 feat. Artist #2" setting as each of these files creates another album entry.
Con Doesn't resume from last close
Musique won't resume from the last time the app was closed. If you had a great music queue all set up, unfortunately it won't stay there if you close the app.
Con Linux controls don't work
The Linux next/previous buttons don't do anything - you will need to open Musique in order to do anything with it (other than change the volume).
Con Looks are dated and may be unappealing
XMMS is pretty long in the tooth now and it's design definitely reflects that.