[dar512]

MP3 is a music compression and file format standard. MP3 players can store and convert MP3 files to music. The player consists of some file storage mechanism, mp3 conversion firmware, and an amplifier.

The main difference between the players is the storage mechanism. The great majority of the players use either flash memory for storage or a very tiny hard drive. The flash storage models range from a few MB to 2GB of storage. The hard drive models are generally 5-40GB. The flash versions are cheaper and fewer moving parts - so less to go wrong. The hard drive versions can hold a lot more songs.

Another major difference is how the music gets from your computer to the player. The easiest method (I think) is the sort that acts as a usb removable drive. Then it's just a matter of plugging the thing in and dragging and dropping the songs from the computer hard drive to the player. Some players use proprietary software to get the music from the PC to the player.

The ipods are well thought of, but I'd avoid the shuffle models. I think it's daft that you can't choose what to play. ipod is not the only viable choice.

99.9% of my mp3s come from converting music from my cd collection. There are also lots of free mp3s out there from bands just getting started - and a lot of podcasts as well.

If you do want to get music from a service - itunes etc. beware that they are generally in a DRM format. You're player has to be able to read that format in order to play those files.

Good luck