As you know, I’ve been looking for a bunch of new options to get ringtones onto my iPhone. Some have been useless and others have proven to be quite helpful. But today, I came across the best option yet: Ringtonator.

Ringtonator takes the iTunes 7.4.1 workaround (converting an .m4r back to .m4a) that has already been automated for us and adds a nice and easy GUI that allows you to drag and drop any AAC file into it. Once the AAC file is added, the program will spit out an iPhone ringtone and you’re all set. Honestly, it’s as simple as that.

I can’t help but wonder what will come of this once Apple realizes that iPhone ringtones are available everywhere. This is just another reason why these companies need to realize that people want free access to the music they already own and the very thought of paying $0.99 for a ringtone is absolutely ridiculous. If nothing else, these ringtone solutions display the power of the Internet and the will of the people who are standing up to Apple and telling them that they’ve had enough of being overcharged for material that is freely available. Of course, Apple’s response will be swift — an iTunes update that will disable all of these solutions. But rest assured, that method can not and will not last forever.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology journalist who covers everything from HDTVs to the iPhone. He writes The Digital Home for CNET, product reviews for InformationWeek and PC World, and contributes to over 15 publications throughout the world.