CD MP3 Players
Dear [Lynn],
No, that should not be the case — not if you bought one of the ones I recommended. Just about every CD player I know plays standard CDs (like what play in your home stereo or car), as well as MP3 CDs. The Sonys also play a proprietary format called ATrack3, and if you’re going to make CDs in  this  format, then yes, you need their software, which is usually bundled with such players. But you  do not  need the software if you’re going to be playing standard and MP3-standard CDs.
Maybe if you’d purchased the player at Wal Mart, you would be more certain about it. 
Tom Hesley