Best Digital Music Server

A lot of good suggestions here.  I do recommend you get something that is Roon compatible, it is just too useful a database to skip that feature.    Even if you don't plan to use it now, you can get a free trial and you might prefer it.   

Exact Copy is software you can buy for your PC, a lifetime license is dirt cheap, and it makes a bit perfect copy in either WAV, FLAC, or some lossy formats.   It is pretty good about finding the Metadata too.   It is more manual than the Bluesound Vault 2 I bought but I didn't find the BS Vault to be any better, other than being more convenient.  SQ is the same once you are in a WAV format.   

FLAC is not lossy but the streamer must uncompress the file on the fly and with a slower processor, it might make a mistake now and then.   I do believe that is the reason some folks believe WAV is better than FLAC but both are not lossy formats, so they should sound the same if the decompression is correct.    

I would agree with @mike_in_nc . I also own an Auralic G1 (as well as the DCS Network Bridge) and have previously used their Aries streamer. The wifi capability makes it very convenient for me and it has all the streaming options I want. Their Lightning App is very nice and you can also use their Lightning Server, although I use Minim Server running on a Synology NAS instead. As for ripping, for years I have been using a Mac Mini with XLD or dBPoweramp, FLAC files only, and for editing the metadata I use Metadatics. I am sure there are some very good one box solutions out there, but I like having the flexibility of separates.

For me, life’s too short to try to cobble together various hardware and software bits hoping to God it somehow works in the end, which we all know it won’t and then will require even more painful and time-consuming troubleshooting.  Some people love wallowing around in that stuff for days on end.  Not me.  I’m dumb and perfectly willing to admit my shortcomings.  So if someone like Innuos will do all that crap work for me and put it in a box for 2600 bucks, call it the Zen Mk3, offer great customer support just in case, and have me up and running successfully and painlessly in a matter of minutes I’m happily (and completely ignorantly) all in.  But again, that’s me.  Best of luck. 

This is the same conclusion I am coming to after several years of experimenting with an "HTPC" set-up and several different software options including JRiver (which seems fantastic but also has a clunky look and requires a night school class to master) and lately Music Bee (which I have also appreciated in many ways, but am realizing operating it in itself becomes a hobby alongside the music I am trying to appreciate).  It's not that I mind these tasks, I think it just tries to put our brains in two different places at one time that are not "same sided"..."Damn I truly love this tune...WTF - why is it showing-up as being from THIS album???"  This information exchange has been truly helpful.  Thanks to all who have participated (so far! :))  Lots of product mentions that I need to check into, and now I see that Roon has their own hardware, I need to check into that as well.  I previously felt that Roon was more than I wanted to spend on a service, but I am going to reevaluate now.

@mhwilliford : Best of luck! Here's hoping you'll find something just right for you!