i love how everyone who doesn't have an iPod bashes them. If they are so terrible, then why are they the top selling player?
If you take care of it, it works... just like anything. I have had my ipod for almost a year now... not ONE problem. I have 3 little tiny scratches on the screen and thats it. Its in my pocket ALL THE TIME. If you take care of them (dont drop it... never dropped mine), it will work great.
Creatives are the next best... iRivers seem to be having trouble from what I hear.. I was leaning towards iRiver before i got the iPod beause of some features, but i found alot of compatibility issues.
Take a look at the zen... pretty good player too.