These players store digital music in their internal memories or on removable storage media. You can create your own digital files on a computer using software supplied with most players. You can also copy music from your favorite CDs or tapes to digital files--a process known as ripping or you can download music from the Internet. In either case you can listen to the files on your computer or transfer them to a portable MP3 player so you have music to go.

MP3 is a file format that compresses music to one-tenth to one-twelfth the space it would take in uncompressed form. Most MP3 players can also handle the WMA format.

Downloaded songs from contemporary artists typically cost less than $1 per song, or $10 for an entire album. Copy-protection measures prevent these songs from being shared with other people over a network and limits the number of times users can transfer them to MP3 players or burn them onto CDs. That limitation is typically three to 10 times, depending on the service.

Major brands include Apple, Sandisk, Archos, Creative Labs, Dell, iRiver, Panasonic, Rio, Samsung, and Sony. Other, smaller brands are on the market as well. MP3 playback has also been incorporated into other handheld portable products, including CD players, MiniDisc players, cell phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Don't Forget the headphones!
Most of the Players on this page come with standard headphone, but for really outstanding sound check out these headphones.