Been there, used that. Very handy URL for Gmail users.
On a side note, i could not find a 'easy' way to sync my contacts online & offline (i know thunderbird plugins r there, did not work smoothly for me on gmail) so switched to @live.com email & their Windows Live Mail Desktop client instead.
VLC Player has this more than 100% volume option, actually its like 200% & to me it always feels louder than any other player i have on my Windows, so give VLC a shot may be?