Rhythmbox works fine, but sometimes certain tracks won't be played; sometimes when certain tracks are played all I hear is static/cracking sound with basically no sound at all.
If I restart rhythmbox and play the same song/s again, they will play fine (No static).
Any ideas?
I think it's crossfading.
See if it's turned on in your preferences, I was having the exact same problem.
If it is turned on, turn it off and then restart Rhythmbox.
I've logged a bug, it's seems the right thing to do, I've seen this issue around, if this bug affects anyone else, subscribe here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/rhythmbox/+bug/666199
It's distortion that's coming from the volume conrol in Rhythmbox. Turn down the volume in the application and you're good to go!