Travel Technology - digital music conundrum

For better or for worse, my music library on my laptop is a mixture of old Napster-acquired MP3s and newer wmas burned from CDs (many of which are now long gone) all played on Windows Media Player 9 series software that came with my XP laptop. I am finally thinking about a digital music player and also about getting new digital music online to play on my laptop and/or on DMP. I WOULD do p2p, RIAA be damned, but cant afford to deal with the hassles of adware, trojans, etc so am ready to shell out per song (they win :().

But it appears that I will have to upgrade my wmp software in order to switch formats to itunes if I go that way, or even if I get wmp compatable player and online store, upgrade to sync to same?

Advice on best long-term option for this late-adapter?

Most players that aren't made by Apple or Sony play both WMA and MP3's with ease. So, if you go that route there's no reason to convert. Buying songs from non-apple/sony sites like Napster or BuyMusic.com will be in WMA format.

Take a look at any of the Rio or Creative players. Scott likes the Rio Riot, I like the Creative Zen. Both have massive hard drives and can be had for under $300.

For sync software, I'm a big Red Chair fan: www.redchairsoftware.com

Last week, there was a thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364869) about allofmp3.com (http://www.allofmp3.com). $0.05-0.10/song or $0.50-1.00/album, depending on the format and bitrate you download.

I second the Red Chair Software recommendation. I use Anapod Explorer, and it's the best $25 I've spent for my iPod.

Here's the english link to allofmp3.com (http://www.allofmp3.com/index.shtml?r=1229250241) for the non-party members.

For ripping (mp3 and wma) and also for syncing to non apple players, the latest version of the free Windows Media Player (version 10) is a huge improvement over its predecessors, and is now the best thing out there, imo. PC Mag recently awarded it editor's choice.

After reading this and other threads, I think I'm going to give anapod a shot. Getting a nano and don't want itunes. WMP 10 is awesome and I like the idea of using 'my computer' to do stuff.