This is actually a good question. Despite the overwhelming popularity of the i-pod if you are looking for a portable music player that achieves good sound quality then the i-pod is definitely not the last word.
My recommendation to you would be one of the higher end Sony Hi-MD Minidisc player/recorders. These machines are very well built and certain models will facilitate the recording of full uncompressed 44.1 PCM which achieves sound quality beyond even the highest bit rate lossless files that an i-pod can accommodate. No they won't do video, and yes you have the unbearable hassle of having to deal with a physical media, the Minidisc, and yes they are a little more bulky, man life is rough, but you do get some things that an i-pod won't give you such as the ability to record from your source component directly to the Minidisc recorder in both digital or analogue and of course the fidelity of uncompressed PCM recording. I have made recordings of my hi-rez DVD-Audio and SACD discs via the analogue outputs of my universal player with stunning results. This is all done with the use of 1GB HI-MD discs that will record 96 minutes of pure uncompressed PCM digital on a single disc. Of course if you prefer you can also record using compressed formats such as Atrac 3 plus, or MP3, and wave files from the PC with the supplied software, that boosts recording time to over 46 hours per disc. Add a set of high quality ear buds and you are set to go.
