Flac is the most well known lossless audio codec among audiophile communities. It allows you to archive CDs without any loss of quality. It is possible to rip CDs in one file per CD, instead of one track per song. Along with the one-album flac file, we will have a cue file containing the markers and tracklist.

 

To rip a CD we're going to use the excellent fre:ac (http://goo.gl/tJ4rO). Go to Options > General Settings, choose "Flac audio encoder v1.2.1". Choose your output directory. Check "Encode to single file" on the right. Then go to the tab "Playlists", and check "Create cue sheets". It is also possible to check "Encode to single file" and "Create cue sheet" on the main window. You are now ready to rip your CD: click the "Add audio CD" icon, fill in the information, then click the "Start the encoding process" button.

 

To play a one-album flac file, I recommend you use Foobar (http://goo.gl/8SMMA), an awesome audio player. Just open the .cue file with Foobar and enjoy the music!

 

To split one-album flac files into the actual songs, use Medieval (http://goo.gl/JIznB), an excellent cue splitter. Open the .cue file with Medieval, choose the options you want then click "Split!"