suggest laptop for music storage

There are a few details in your request you are likely unaware of. If you want to store music in uncompressed format (or lossless), which is the best quality, it will take up quite a bit of space (300mb/CD lossless or 600mb/CD uncompressed). I don't think there are any services offering either format as downloads. You would have to rip them from original CD's yourself (very easy in iTunes). All the music download services offer some form of compression which is certainly NOT the "best quality format" you are looking for. As far as storing the music, it's best to store it on an external hard drive with lots of space rather than on the native hard drive to the laptop, at least if you plan on storing a library of any significant size in lossless or uncompressed formats. You will just end up clogging up your laptop if you try storing the music natively. I have a 320GB external drive that holds over 700 CD's currently. I'd recommend you assess how many CD's you plan on storing and how frequently you'll likely buy more, in order to determine the size of hard drive you'd need. As far as the operating system to implement the music, Mac has it all over PC, IMO, and is certainly very easy and instinctive to use. The remote function is a pretty recent innovation for the laptop world. A basic MacBook will include an AppleRemote and set you back $999. A 500gb external hard drive can be had for around $175 or much less if you want to risk some of the really cheap stuff (you need to backup anyway).

Marco

Jax2 I found this site I tried it and sounds great on my temporary system. Thank you for the suggestion but a few hundred more than I want to spend. I will either wait until they come down or break down and spend the money.

http://mgn.musicgiants.com/help.aspx

Welcome to the MusicGiants High Definition Music Store. Browse our extensive catalog of music and purchase your favorite albums in Windows Media Audio lossless format. MusicGiants believes in honoring artists by presenting their music in full resolution the way it is intended to be heard.

High-end audio systems demand quality digital files. Compression eliminates important details and frequencies in your music. Other download services compromise sound quality by compressing audio data to as low as 128 kbps. Our Windows Media Audio format plays as high as 1100 kbps

1. What is a High Definition Music Download?
High definition music downloads are the highest quality downloads available for your home entertainment center. The sound quality of this download is equal to a CD. It is a lossless digital file, unlike the MP3 which is compressed 7 times. The High Definition download is encoded in the Lossless WMA (Windows Media Audio)

Will this work with a Mac

Will this work with a Mac

I'm not familiar with their service. I'm pretty sure WMA can only be used with a Windows Media Player, and is not convertible to other file formats. Check with someone who knows better. I don't know if it is a true lossless file type either.

Marco

based on personal experience, i strongly recommend using a mac over a PC. The reasons have been extensively documented elsewhere. You can find a decent used ibook G3 or G4 for a few hunderd dollars on ebay. you will want to make sure it is running somethign close to the latest mac OS (OS X) to get the most advanced drivers. Of course, the price will depend on how much storage you want -- and how much storage you want depends on whether you will be storing your files in a lossless format (e.g., Apple Lossless). Based on your statement that you want "best quality" you will absolutely want to rip from CDs in lossless format. There are only a few places that I have discovered to download lossless files. Using an external hard drive is a cost effective way of expanding memory, but just make sure you get one that is very quiet and dependable. I have had mixed results with external HDDs, but the Western Digital My Book seems to be a decent product.

My setup includes a 120G Imac ===> Wavelength Cosecant USB DAC ====> Shindo Giscours pre. I could not be happier with how the Cosecant has performed. I have not listened to the Wavelength Brick (one step down the range from the Cosecant), but I am sure that it is a winner, too.

if you go with a mac laptop (not sure if this will work on a PC), make sure to check out Salling Software's "Clicker" application. You can download this application, install it on a a handheld device (like a Palm)and then use the handheld device as an itunes remote. the application works great.

Finally, don't believe the hype re: "high end" USB cables. So far as I can tell, any cable from a reputable manufacturer will do the trick.

I see eye-to-eye with Jeffreybowman2K's comments, but would add that if you buy a used iBook (good idea as they are plentiful and inexpensive), I'm not sure if they are compatible with the AppleRemote (you listed a remote as a requisite). In that case if you use a music server, like Olive or Squeezebox, you can use one of their remotes. I'd guess your budget won't include that though. I'd also second a vote for Wavelength's gear. I had their Brick USB DAC and it is a very nice DAC indeed.

Marco