What's the best portable MP3 player?

I'm going to be getting a hefty check tomorrow, so I'm looking for a good one at a reasonable price. I have debts I need to pay tomorrow and in the future, so I can't spend too much.

Unlimited budget? iPod with long warranty.
Best technology? Flash memory players from iRiver or other quality companies.
Best bang for buck/cost efficiency? CD MP3 players, see iRiver.

Ipods don't skip... but neither do CD players when they're cushioned with three hundred dollars in cash.

I'd say a tie between the Rio Karma and the iPod. The iPod because well, it's so good an reliable. The Karma because it plays the widest variety of codecs, including Ogg Vorbis, which is important to me personally. Unfortunately the Karma experiences relatively often lockups, especially when running or doing activities. Although it has RCA outs and can be connected to a home network via an Ethernet jack to be used remotely around the house.

I remember when Maximum PC did a rundown of all the MP3 players, the Karma was the only one that came out alive (besides the iPod, that was basically what they compared them all to).

I'm very happy with my Creative Jukebox 3. Was a lot cheaper than any others (Read: iPods and iRivers) with similar features

Dell Jukebox
iRiver
iPod
Creative
Rio

Those are your choices. Frankly--Rio isn't that great. They don't suck, but...meh.

Creative--CHEAP! But...people have had problems. Not to mention its bulk.

Dell--Cheapish, quite nice, but people have had small problems with navigation, and it doesn't come with a whole slew of features.

iPod--comes with basically no special features, but is reliable and easy to use. All the extra features cost $$$$$$$$$$$

iRiver--comes with TONS of special features, works extremely well, a little on the expensive side, but well worth it.

Basic breakdown, and we're talking about HARDDRIVE MP3 players here.

IPods are rediculously over priced. I just got a Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra and I absolutely love it. It was marked $270 at Best Buy, but I got it for $110 because my Jukebox 2 "broke" and I used the service plan

But yeah, Creative MP3 players are excellant

Pogo Ripdrive.

Not well known, but I love it immensely. The 30 gig was only $250ish, compared to the.. 15 gig iPod, which is the same price, if memory serves?

It has a built in FM reciever, and it can also record off the radio, as well as through a line in jack (rip cd's from a friend's cd player to your RipDrive, anyone?) or through a small, built in microphone.

The only downsides are that it's big, but it comes with a carrying case with a belt clip.
Weight 10 oz
Dimensions (W x D x H) 3.2 in x 0.9 in x 5.1 in

It also has a 10-15 second boot up time, but seriously... do you need your music /instantly/?

It has a 10 hour battery life, plays MP3 and WMA, and is USB 2.0 compatible.

I love mine. Although other people are turned off by the size/weight and bootup time.

I would recommend staying away from the CD MP3 players. I have one, and it skips horribly. It didn't used to, but it's pretty old now. Also, the LCD is broken, but that's a function of me accidentally stepping on it.

<3!!!!

I use a Rio Volt CD/MP3 player. Great EQ on it, it never skips and it came with the best earbuds that I've ever owned. The display is fantastic. Total cost: not even $100 Canadian, about one fifth the cost of an iPod. It reads CD-RW's without a problem, so I don't have to waster CD's or anything.

i have one of those too finity5, it r excellant

DOES NOT COMPUTE. Why the hell?

best mp3 plaer ever=

nomad jukebox zen extra...

$254 or cheaper.. and it has 40 gigs of space

I have a Creative MP3 player too, the Zen Touch. I love it.

Pros:
- Cheaper than the iPod yet comes with more features
- Free remote (on headphones cable) and protective carry case
- Built-in FM radio and voice recorder (as part of remote)
- 24 hr battery life, compared to 12 for the iPod
- The touch pad. It has the same drag-your-finger-along principle as the iPod along with its coolness factor, and makes the player incredibly easy to use
- Great audio performance. Way better than ye olde Sony Discman (mine at least)
- Transfering files is as easy as drag and drop when the thing is plugged in with a USB cable. You can even charge the battery through the USB cable. The transfer rate is really good, too, takes no more than a second or two for an average mp3
- Can be used as a portable hard drive. Will accept any type of file you drag and drop to it

Cons:
- Bulky. Weighs a bit and isnt exactly streamlined. But it's not like it wont fit in your pocket
- Creative. Not the best company to deal with if things go wrong. But so far absolutely nothing has gone wrong for me
- Doesnt have great shock resistance. Never made it skip myself, but they do say in the manual that it's not designed for jogging

Basically, I see no reason why you wouldnt get the Zen Touch over an iPod. As for the other brands on the market, well them I dont know about. The only iRivers you can get over here are brand new and cost a fricken ton with their colour screens.

I have one and the navigation isn't really a problem. The lack of features is true. It's basically a bare bone iPod

Eh, mine doesn't crash. Well, maybe once, which is good considering I use it almost everyday for hours on end. I've been using it for ten months and even after dropping it and taking it apart, it is still kicking. My friend has one too, and his is fine as well. I was under the impression that Karama's were getting pulled off the shelves in many stores, though.

I'm probably going to go with this one after I shop around a while for a good price.

<3 penny arcade

Shrug, just what I read. Maybe they are being pulled off and replaced with an upcoming model? The Karma is their first player afterall.