6. Any Audio Converter
While Format Factory actually supports a wider range of output formats, Any Audio Converter covers the most common bases, plus it can also grab the soundtracks from video files, both offline and online (including YouTube).
7. Audacity
It may be a little long in the tooth, but Audacity is still the best free audio-capture and editing suite out there. Hook up your stereo to digitise old analogue recordings, or use it to record podcasts or edit existing digital recordings. You'll need the LAME encoder to export to MP3 – get it here.
8. FastStone Image Viewer
FastStone Image Viewer is up against the similarly excellent IrfanView for best image-processing utility, and it's neck and neck between them. Both feature batch processing tools and a contact sheet builder, but while IrfanView scores points for supporting more obscure image formats, FastStone Image Viewer supports both text and image watermarking, plus it's more user-friendly, so it takes our vote - just.
9. Paint.NET
It's a toss up between Paint.NET and The GIMP for your multimedia toolkit's image editor. Paint.NET isn't quite as powerful – but it's plenty powerful enough for most people – and it boasts a more accessible user interface too. It also has its own plug-in repository if you can't find a tool that does the job you need.
10. Inkscape
If you find yourself having to work with vector image formats, then why shell out for an expensive program when Inkscape offers a powerful, user-friendly and – most importantly – open-source alternative?
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