Which MP3 player is right for you? MP3 players come in two basic varieties, each with distinct advantages. There are the ones with internal memory and an internal rechargeable battery–these are the ones you hear so much about in the media that set you back a pretty penny; then there are the affordable ones which contain some type of flash memory and run on common household batteries. If you're ready to take the plunge, don't be afraid of either one. But don't dive right in–first consider the way you intend to utilize the player. That will determine which device is right for you.

How Do You Take Your Music?

First, think about how you listen to music currently. Are you already using a portable device? Do you carry a handheld radio or CD player with you to listen in various locales, like the bus, the gym, while working or walking? What time of day is it when you tune in, or do you orchestrate your entire day? Do you enjoy music as a companion to an activity, such as exercise, meditation, shopping, or do you completely zone out and focus on the experience of hearing? Do you like to share your music selection, or is it strictly a solitary activity? Do others want you to share your music, or does it disturb them? And do you listen "radio style" to a variety of songs and artists, or "album style" to an entire artist's catalog?

Supersize It

Large MP3 players, like the Apple I-Pod and the Dell DJ to name two popular models, have some defining characteristics. They hold an enormous amount of music–this means thousands and thousands of songs, or to put it in a way you might find more familiar, your entire catalog of music (unless you were a DJ in a former life)! They are essentially mini computers, containing within them storage and power that enables them to keep a huge amount of music available for hours of playback between charges. With capacity and capability come certain drawbacks, such as extra bulk and weight. Also, they can be damaged by jarring, impact or moisture.

Get With the Program

These players typically use software to manage the music. You will have to install the software and then connect your player in some way, usually through a synchronizing cable that attaches to the device and to your computer through a USB port.

Synchronizing pulls quite a bit of power, so you may also need to have your AC power adapter connected.

In order to get the music from your CDs into your device, you must first convert them to a compatible format and import them to the software's library. Each device's particular software is compatible with several formats of compression. Each format has its own desirable characteristic: high quality, compact size, or broad range of compatibility. MP3s are the most common format, and therefore they are compatible with more devices. If you are sharing music you own between members of your family, for example, it isn't likely you would want to duplicate the import process, which can be pretty time consuming. For this reason, you might choose to put all of your music into the MP3 format. If sharing is not a factor and you are an aficionado, then you might choose the larger, higher quality file compression. Those with fewer songs or smaller amounts of storage would choose smaller and lower quality file compression.

Have It Your Way

The next step is to "manage" your player by organizing your music. Some structure is inherent in the software, as the basic information of artist, song title, song length and album title load automatically.

Creating playlists enables you to select music based on your mood, the activity in which you are engaged, or a genre. Some playlists you might designate are "exercise music," "restful music," "disco" or "music to work by."

You can choose several ways to playback: randomly by song or artist, by playlist, even alphabetically. Individual songs, whole albums and compilations of every variety, including spoken word, are available for purchase on the Internet. Be careful, though, as some of the formats are proprietary, meaning it can only be heard on that site's preferred device.

Also, sometimes use is regulated so the data can be opened (listened to) only on the device to which it is downloaded, but no other, including your computer. The obvious advantage of buying music on the Internet as opposed to hard copy CDs is that you may purchase only what you want, it may be purchased in privacy without having to find a parking spot or wait in a line, and it is always in stock and immediately available. If you think ahead and read the fine print, you can successfully navigate the online music minefield.

These devices are feature rich, and many accessories are available to enable them to be utilized with speakers, car radio broadcast apparati, or microphones (for voice recording), rejuiced with car chargers, AC adapters for every country, and USB cables. However, the more functional an item, the more complex is its operation. Lots of options require lots of choices which require lots of decisions which require lots of learning–this all may be LOTS more than you bargained for!

Make Mine a Light

Alternatively, consider the flash memory MP3 player, a lesser option: less playing time, less music storage, less complicated and … well, LE$$!

These lightweight players actually plug directly into your computer's USB port. MP3s, or pictures or files or pretty much any other data, can just be dragged and dropped to what shows up on the computer as an optional drive. (You will need to convert your CDs to MP3s, but recent versions of the most popular media players, such as Windows Media Player and Real Player, come with this capability.)

These devices are available everywhere (electronics stores, discount stores, even drug stores) in many sizes and shapes with convenient little lanyards for hanging them.

The price is directly related to how much storage and battery life they have. The most common and least expensive ones usually hold 256 mg., about 60 songs. There are fewer choices in how the songs are ordered or arranged, but it is also much easier to scoot through the playlist using their simple, straightforward controls. These players are battery operated by one or two A or AA batteries, which can be a very good thing if an electrical outlet, a computer or a car cigarette lighter are not in close proximity. This feature also keeps the players lightweight.

Some of USB MP3s have removable media, such as flash drives, so you can load a song selection in much the same way as a playlist–a nice feature if family members share the player but not musical taste.

Kid Friendly

Speaking of family members, you are much more likely to permit a child to use your flash drive MP3 player. They withstand being banged around much better than the larger players. While every model will hang up at times due to selection overload, or repeated rapid button pushing, the flash drive MP3s can be rebooted simply by removing and replacing the battery, and since there are no organizational structures in use, they restart ready to play. At the very least, the intricate system of the organizational structure of the larger players must be re-navigated, and often they must also be re-synced after rebooting.

Sweets for the Sweet, Just Dessert

Once you determine which device (or both) suits your particular situation and method of use, you will enjoy many hours of musical interlude with your MP3 player. Their popularity is easy to understand when you are able to listen to music so easily wherever you are.