I'm looking for an easy to use lib that will convert an MP3 file to a sequence of int values (and the reverse), preferable without having to dump them all into RAM. A "decode the next 16kB into this buffer" like API would be ideal.
I need C or simple C++ bindings.
A MP3<->RAW filter CLI tool would work but I'd rather not have to keep uncompressed files on disk.
Try libmad or ffmpeg's libavcodec. Both should meet your requirements. The ancient mp3lib which was originally derived from/part of (?) mpg123 has also been resurrected in mplayer with new development and perhaps has the best performance, but probably the ugliest code. :-)
I created a .net wrapper for mpg123 for use in my projects, and posted it to soundforge.
It is here.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpg123net/
So you say you need it for c/c++ - ok, i posted it so you can check out my sample, that has so little code that is enough for initializing decoder and putting it to work for you.