There are many readers who will no doubt read the above headline and, after wiping a tear or two from his eye, will surely rage, “Uh, I STILL USE WINAMP.” Rest assured, the astonishment that Winamp is still around comes from a purely nostalgic place. Winamp occupies that spot in my memory where I’ve just arrived at college, discovered Napster, and need juuuust the right Winamp skin to reflect my totally unique personality while playing awesome new DMB tunes. And now Winamp is about to go gentle into that good night.

Yes, Winamp, the Windows media player you might’ve used right around the time you learned about MP3s and needed something to play them, is shutting down after 15 years. Dec. 21 is set as the date of its demise, reports The Verge.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many turned to Winamp to listen to the radio through live streams or to play whichever MP3s you definitely did not get off of Napster because that would’ve been wrong.

Its popularity has waned since then, and it’s been sitting in development with its owners as of 2002, AOL.

There’s no reason that we’ve found for putting the kibosh on Winamp, but perhaps it’s just a results of the times. The major players on the scene like iTunes and other built-in media players are now all the rage, and it’s likely many of you have forgotten about kind old Winamp, sitting in the corner in his rocking chair, remembering when.

Goodbye, dear friend. You played those bootlegged Dave Matthews Band concerts like nothing else could.

Winamp shutting down after over 15 years [The Verge]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.