FLAC is the most supported lossless codec and the best when it comes to multi platform support.
It's also the most popular one.

A lot of portable multi media players support various formats, FLAC included.
Ignore Apple and Microsoft and you have plenty of choices in devices which do.
Personally I'm happy with my Cowon iAudio 7.

I used to use rockbox on my sansa but I ended up hating the interface too much, could never find a decent theme for it with text that was actually readable

Sorry to keep this thread off-topic, but i must say Rockbox is indeed really great. I use it on my old Cowon HD-Player as local and on my little Sansa Fuze as portable player. Luckily most themes are available for both players.

Recommendations for themes:
Boesselhack v2 color (big cover, perfect for a big local player)
Simply Rich (many infos on little space, perfect for a portable player)

There's a nice tool for working with lossless audio files: Trader's Little Helper

Thank you for all the answers! /OT

I recently re-started my emusic account and they have made a change that I am not thrilled with so I thought I'd mention it. They now let you download the track ONCE ONLY. Each time you get it it will cost you, so you no longer have a 'library' on their site that you can get songs you have purchased again. The sad thing is, they do have the download history still, and you can PLAY any song you've gotten, but I found no way to get it again other than to pay again.

I will probably dump them again because of this, I prefer my digital purchases to last as long as the site I got them from at the very least, not until I click 'complete' on the download box. :P

So, if you have any emusic stuff, be sure you back it up well!

I'd agree that lossless is lossless. It depends on what programs/player you use so it can be compatible. One thing to remember is that lossless doesn't do you much good if you have cheap hardware. There's nothing wrong with casual listening, but if you're listening on a $10 pair of headphones or using a 3.5mm cable to plug into your crackling car stereo, lossless is a waste of space. Still, archiving lossless files is not a bad idea if you have the space for it. You have them handy if you ever decide to upgrade hardware (I say this in a general manner since I don't know what hardware you have) and you can always convert to a lossy format for your player if you want.

Same goes for 24-bit/96kHz. It needs to be done properly in the original recording or it just ends up sounding worse. Cd's are16-bit/44.1kHz and you might think that changing that yourself will improve the quality but it only degrades the sound. Most stuff you find is going to be 16-bit/44.1kHz.. If it's good enough for the industry, then it's good enough for me. I don't know how to make proper 24-bit/96kHz audio myself anyway.


Is Americanization really that bad that MTV is considered mainstream? I was hoping that the rest of the world wouldn't have to suffer MTV. Please tell me your women aren't all acting like they belong in the Jersey Shore show.

That's a shitty situation. I really do wish people would pay more attention to their local talent and quit idolizing people. Can Creative Commons be a solution? I like the idea of being able to buy a license from someone who has music on Jamendo to use as a soundtrack for my own homemade movie. A lot of people don't think like that though.

I was actually looking for archiving my CD collection, so that is exactly what I was hoping to hear, thank you! :) I rip via EAC and save them along with the verification data on an external drive. I then usually rip them as VBR mp3 for my local drive so I can load up any player I have and go with it.

I'm going to have to look into a FLAC capable player for when I want to listen via the stereo system, though. That way the discs just stay stored in case RIAA comes kicking in my door. :P