Is there any macOS music player with a real folder tree (sidebar) + queue?

[goke]

I’m trying to find a macOS MP3/M4A/FLAC player that works like a file browser:

• Left sidebar: folder/tree directory view (like Finder)
• I can click into folders, play files, and add tracks/albums to queue directly from that folder view
• No “import to library” required
• No “create a dummy playlist and drag files into it” workflow

If you know one that genuinely supports folder tree browsing + queue, please drop:

• app name
• where the folder tree is in the UI (sometimes it’s hidden)
• whether it supports queueing from folders

A lot of Mac music apps seem fixated on the whole “library” workflow, import everything, scan it, reorganize it, then steer you into playlists. I don’t want a second database managing my collection. My music is already organized the old-school way in folders, and I just want a MediaMonkey-style player that lets me browse a folder tree and add tracks to a real “now playing” queue without weird workarounds.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Have you tried foobar2000?

foobar2000

foobar2000

www.foobar2000.org

 

[goke]

Have you tried foobar2000?

foobar2000

foobar2000

www.foobar2000.org

Thank you for the suggestion btw...I’m giving foobar2000 a go, I’m actually indexing everything right now. I was trying to avoid anything that involves indexing terabytes or building a “media library,” but it might be my only option on macOS. Feels like you don’t really get an old-school folder/tree layout here unless the app forces a library/indexing step first.

 

[goke]

Have you tried foobar2000?

foobar2000

foobar2000

www.foobar2000.org

Thanks again!
Once I tweaked the layout, I can browse my music in a proper folder tree and right-click to Play or Add to Playback Queue, no dragging files into a dummy playlist. It still relies on the Media Library for that folder view, but the day-to-day experience feels much closer to the old-school “folders + queue” workflow.

ChatGPT's walkthrough on foobar2000 for macOS->
1) Open the Layout Editor
1. Open foobar2000
2. In the macOS menu bar, click View
3. Hover Layout
4. Click Edit Layout…
This opens the foobar2000 layout editor window.

2) Paste the layout
1. In the layout editor, click inside the big text area
2. Select everything (Cmd + A) and paste this:
splitter style=thin
splitter vertical style=pane
tabs position=top NSSplitViewItem.canCollapse NSSplitViewItem.behavior=NSSplitViewItemBehaviorSidebar
albumlist tab-name="Folders"
playlist-picker tab-name="Playlists"
playlist
playback-controls

3. Click Apply (top of the editor window)
You should now see a left sidebar with tabs for Folders and Playlists, plus your main playlist and playback controls.

3) Enable folder tree view inside the Folders tab
1. Click the new Folders tab in the sidebar
2. In that panel, open the view dropdown (the one that shows things like “by artist”, “by album”, etc.)
3. Choose by folder structure
Now you have a folder tree-style browser.

4) Important note (so it actually shows your music)
The Folders tab is powered by Album List, which pulls from Media Library. So you need to add your music folders to the Media Library once:
1. Go to foobar2000 → Preferences…
2. Open Media Library
3. Click Add…
4. Select your top-level music folders (the roots you want in the tree)
5. Let it finish indexing
After that, the Folders → by folder structure view will reflect your actual folder hierarchy.

5) Use it like a folder player (play and queue from the tree)
• In the Folders tab (Album List), browse to any folder/album/track.
• Right-click a folder, album, or one or more tracks, then use:
○ Play to start playback immediately
○ Add to Playback Queue to queue items up (MediaMonkey-style “play next / add to queue” behavior)
○ Send to Current Playlist / Add to Current Playlist if you still want playlist-based playback
• Can also select multiple tracks (Shift-click / Cmd-click) and then Add to Playback Queue to build a queue fast.

 

[turbineseaplane]

awesome!

As was said in one of the James Bond films… Sometimes the old ways are the best

 

[goke]

awesome!

As was said in one of the James Bond films… Sometimes the old ways are the best

Facts!
It's crazy how it's not a default setting.

 

[goke]

I posted the same thread on r/musichoarders

Someone reccomended monoPlayer[https://monohex.com/monoPlayer/]

Which addresses the usecase I was looking for.