Is JRiver still the best software?

Not sure what you mean by "best," but in terms of sound quality Jriver sounds warmer and more analog like than other software that I have auditioned, and MPC HC gives JR a run for the money.  Not sure what others think. 

It's interesting to see that this old thread still gathers a few comments.  That tells me that playback software is still an issue out there.

As far as I'm concerned now, JRiver is pretty much a dead horse.  The MC27 version is now unsupported and won't allow me to add new titles for playback.  I may give it one last chance with the new version, but I'm very disillusioned that such a widely installed platform is so user unfriendly.  Moreover, it should sound like a "perfect digital copy" of the digital data I loaded.  I don't want "better" or "worse." 

All I ever wanted is play the music I've legally purchased in its native resolution.  To do that, I either have to relearn all the Microbloat tricks I've thankfully forgotten since I dumped Windows as my personal op sys a decade ago and pay JRiver an "upgrade" extortion or I have to sign onto some "subscription service" extortion that's easier to use.  Zappa called it "the international hum job" and it has only changed platform.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Feature wise it might be.  Sonically I am not convinced it is any better than many nowadays that support ASIO or can otherwise bypass the windoz mixer...