No idea. I'm going to waffle a bit...
CDROM drive could be faulty.
You haven't set default programs to autoplay new media when inserted.
You haven't got programs to play audio. (Unlikely due to you mentioning iTunes...)
The CDs you are trying to play are somehow faulty.
Some peculiar form of digital rights management refuses to let you play CDs... (Now I'm just making things up.)
Things to check?
Is your CDROM drive recognised by your laptop? There's a part of me which finds it suspicious you can't even play CDs after opening iTunes. Try looking at device manager to see if your CDROM drive is listed in the hardware. Perhaps you need new drivers.
Have a look at your default programs through the control panel of your OS (I...