If you’re tired of the rather large/bloated nature of iTunes and just want to play some MP3s like you did years ago, it’s worth trying Tiny Player for the Mac.
Tiny Player, developed by Catnap Games, is available for free.
While the application doesn’t have the many features of iTunes, or even of VLC, features no equalizer, or cover art, or “related music.” It simply plays your music files, in the order you tell it, with or without shuffle and repeat.