MP3 Players Reviews

There are many great places to read reviews of MP3 players. CNet.com ranks highly in our view, because the site reviews lots of new MP3 players as they come to market and uses a rating system that makes it easy to see at a glance which MP3 players the editors feel are best. We'd be happier, however, if CNet.com were more prompt in removing discontinued MP3 players from its lists of top picks. The MP3 player reviews at PC Magazine have many of the same positives and negatives as CNet.com, but editors cover fewer MP3 players.

Consumer Reports brings its typical professionalism to the job of rating MP3 players. However, while discussion of individual players is more extensive than in the past, it still falls far short of what most other reviewers provide. If you are sure you don't want an iPod, a website called AnythingButiPod.com has great in-depth reviews of other MP3 players. There are no ratings or recommendations made, but the editors leave no doubt as to which MP3 players they like -- and which they don't. If you are sure you do want an iPod -- and only an iPod -- the MP3 player reviews at Macworld are worth a read. User reviews at sites like Amazon.com are great for learning how well an MP3 player meets expectations after the sale.

A family refresh in late 2007 brought some significant changes to the Apple iPod line. The standard iPod has been renamed the iPod classic and now is available with either an 80 GB (*est. $245) or 160 GB (*est. $330) hard drive, with the latter being capable of storing 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video or some combination of both. The iPod nano is also available in two versions -- 4 GB (*est. $150) and 8 GB (*est. $200). It is now shorter and wider -- some are calling it "The Fatty" -- to allow for video viewing.

While the iPod nano has clearly captured the hearts and minds of reviewers, the iPod classic has elicited a less enthusiastic response. The iPod classic does represent an upgrade over the previous iPod (generation five), but many critics question whether it is enough improvement to suggest current iPod owners rush out to buy one. Still, if you are buying your first iPod, upgrading from a much older MP3 player or need the prodigious storage or other improvements that the iPod classic offers, critics say it's clearly an excellent hard-drive based MP3 player.

One consideration with all iPod MP3 players is that you are mainly limited to purchasing music from Apple's iTunes music store -- you will not be able to play music from Windows-based online stores such as Napster or Rhapsody. That's because iPods are incompatible with the music in WMA format that you would buy from most non-Apple music download services. Reviews do say that Apple's iTunes store is excellent, with a wide selection of music, but at this time, iTunes offers no subscription services, and it’s possible you’ll want to download tunes not available in the iTunes store. You can also buy music that's in non-protected MP3 format from sites like eMusic.com (and some music from Wal-mart.com, Amazon.com and even iTunes itself). For reviews of online music stores, see our companion report on music downloads .  ... Continued

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Among flash-based MP3 players, the latest version of the Apple iPod nano is clearly the choice among reviewers. That said, a few other MP3 players are compelling alternatives, especially for users who don't want to be tied to Apple's iTunes store. Those include the iRiver Clix, Creative Zen V Plus and Sony NWZ-A810 series. Among hard-drive MP3 players, which store the most songs, the Apple iPod classic and Microsoft Zune rule the roost. Though less expensive budget players are available, critics love the Samsung YP-U3's design and say that it's extremely easy to use.