This year, the Karaoke player was voted the “#1 most irritating invention” in the British Inventors Society poll of 2,500 Brits. “Seeing the karaoke machine at the top of that list made me smile,” admits BIS director Kane Kramer. “When people are singing karaoke they are enjoying themselves, but as a member of the audience you are just watching somebody who can’t perform – and isn’t particularly pleasant to listen to – for as long as you can bear it. It is anti-social. You might have 10 people who want to sing some karaoke, which means 150 people have to suffer it.” Despite the snooty opinion of our overseas cohorts, American Idol has made the karaoke club into a cash cow and spawned an increased demand for at-home karaoke systems.

It seems everyone is claiming to have “the best karaoke player on the market.” With so many contenders, it can be hard to choose. Today, karaoke songs can be played on portable systems, DVD players, CD players, PCs and Playstation consoles. The smart karaoke system consumer should first be honest with him or herself and ask, “What am I going to use this thing for?” If it is for killer karaoke parties, then an all-in-one machine like The Song Station is the ideal choice. This amazing karaoke system has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, People Magazine and on NBC, and enjoys high Epinions ratings. Ranging between $207 and $259, the system has 53,000 built-in tracks from around the globe, but also accepts DVDs, special karaoke CDGs, CD+Gs, VCDs and MP3s, and plays all in high-quality Dolby Digital.

Consumers receive two free microphones, a pedestal karaoke song search unit, large speakers and additional amplifier connections. Up to ninety-nine songs can be scheduled, just like at a karaoke club, and sixty favorites can be stored for quick retrieval. This product can be purchased at www.thesongstation.com.

Another way to experience karaoke songs is to buy a karaoke player that doubles as a video game console. For instance, Playstation and XBox offer “Karaoke Revolution,” a game which lets singers belt it out with cover bands to see if they can properly match the pitches and harmonies like the pros. There are a number of different modes, allowing for duets, solos or party modes. In one particular mode, users can earn platinum and gold records, create a rock karaoke avatar, buy clothes and equipment and unlock new songs. A sing and dance mode works sort of like Dance Dance Revolution, with the added singing component. There is even an “American Idol” edition, where Paula Abdul judges the performances. The XBox edition provides access to Xbox Live, with limitless downloadable upgrades.

For kids, the GPX Karaoke Machine can be purchased from Best Buy for just $30 and will play the music, as well as the video (CD+G) and comes with a microphone. Hello Kitty also has a fun pink-and-white karaoke player for $50 that plays karaoke CDs and Barbie has a “Hits 2 Go”CD boombox for $30 or a better quality Emerson Radio Barbie CD+G system for $75, which can all be purchased at www.amazon.com. For the older kids, The Singing Machine SMG-137 Karaoke System is reasonably priced from $45 to $88 and looks more like the traditional karaoke machine, with built-in speakers, two microphone inputs, a top-load CD/CD+G drive and basic balance/echo/volume/auto voice controls.

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“American Idol” has increased the popularity of karaoke ten-fold. Many kids and teenagers are wondering where they can get their very own karaoke equipment to practice at home. In the eighties, when karaoke first came from Japan to America, the only answer would have been to buy a special karaoke system. However, today you can buy a karaoke machine, a karaoke microphone, a karaoke iPod adaptor, a karaoke computer program, karaoke video game or a karaoke DVD player.

You don’t have to break the bank buying home karaoke machines. For instance, the Cavs 105G DVD ($119, www.sumamic.com) comes with a microphone, remote control, audio-video cable and karaoke DVD machine that plays music CDs, DVD movies and special karaoke CD Gs. Singers will enjoy key control, voice cancel, volume control, microphone mixing and superior 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Another option is the VocoPro DVG399K ($110 at www.zzsounds.com), which works exactly the same way. Or, if you would like a professional looking karaoke system, then you can try The Singing Machine’s STVD-1001 Pedestal DVD/CDG Karaoke System with Tower Speakers ($79 at www.amazon.com), which allows you to play both CD G and DVD karaoke songs.

According to online retailer Amazon, the kid karaoke DVD offerings tend to sell best. Disney’s “High School Musical” 1 & 2, “Hannah Montana,” “Disney Radio Hits” 1 & 2, as well as “Jump & Jive with Hi-5″ and Sesame Street’s “Sesame Sings Karaoke” are all karaoke hits. For older teens and adults, Billboard released a “Top 10 Karaoke Box Set” that includes 40 songs including John Lennon, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton and Sting, to name a few artists. Also, Party Tyme offers a multitude of karaoke songs on DVD for $13.99, with themes including: Broadway, Country, Old Country, Greatest Hits, Oldies, Pop, Rock and Love Songs. Startrax offers fun genre DVDs too, including 80s movies, 80s pop, alternative anthems, another top 20 hits, at the movies, back to school, boogie nights, classic R&B, country classics, dancing in the streets, disco classics, girls night and kids, to name a few.

Box sets are also a great way to boost your Karaoke DVD collection in a hurry. For $79, you can buy the “Hits of the Decades” DVD that includes ten DVDs spanning the fifties (Nat King Cole, Pat Boone, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Perry Como, Tony Bennett); the sixties (Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Bobby Vinton, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino); the seventies (Styx, The Bee Gees, Don McLean, Kansas, Donna Summer, Elton John); the eighties (The Cars, The Bangles, Madonna, Culture Club, Bananarama, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Dire Straits, Bon Jovi, Blondie); and the nineties (Nirvana, Shania Twain, Aerosmith, U2, Sheryl Crow, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jewel, Oasis, Britney Spears). You can also buy the Singer’s Dream 18 karaoke disc box set for $149 that includes The Best of Grease, The Hits of Johnny Cash & George Jones, The Hits of Kelly Clarkson & Troy Aiken, The Hits of Gretchen Wilson, Pop Divas, Hot Pop Hits, Country Male Hits, Country Female Hits, The Hits of Avril Lavigne, Rock & Soul Classics, Karaoke Party Classics, The Best of Teen Pop, Kids Sing Christmas, Kids Christmas Favorites, Christmas Memories, Christmas Classics, Pop Christmas Party and Christmas Holiday Hits. Billboard Magazine also has a “Top 10″ box set series worth checking out.

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