tooLAME is a very fast (6x realtime on a 550mhz Celeron) MPEG-1 layer 2 audio encoder with a command-line syntax nearly identical to that of the LAME MPEG-1 layer 3 audio encoder. Because of patent issues surrounding the layer 3 encoder, the ability of most mpeg audio players to play layer 2 files, and the similarity in command-line syntax, toolame makes a very good drop-in replacement for lame or other layer 3 encoders under most circumstances.