I have a real old Sansa MP3 player. Not only does it have small on board memory, it doesn't work with my MacBook air and it is starting to hang and have issues. Not to mention the clock doesn't work.

So it is time to get a new one. I don't want to use my phone, not even an option here. And I really don't want an iPod as I don't use iTunes and don't want to. I want at least 8gb, would prefer more. I only play music so I am not concerned about video playback or FM tuner, but I do want a screen so I can see the list of songs by artist and by album.

Any good recommendations?

The Sansa Fuze+ is quite good:

http://www.sandisk.com/products/musi...ers/fuze-plus/

iPod Touch

6_itunes_alternatives_mac

I've been pretty happy with my Sansa Fuze (not the + model). I even bought one for my dad, which I somehow got back.

I agree, I have one and use it on the road. Upgradable with microSD and good SQ, able to play FLAC files. Can be picked up cheap of auction sites (I paid �25 for a 4GB one wth 8GB microSD).

Make sure that you get some decent headphones (AKG/Sennheiser/Audio Technica) to get the best out of it.

What part of "And I really don't want an iPod as I don't use iTunes and don't want to" did you decide wasn't worth listening to?

The apps you listed are local music players without device syncing built in, so your advise is about as useful as a fart in a spacesuit.

I will go back in time and say get one with an AAA battery.....

its easy to buy cheap batteries at the Dollar store or anywhere in the world , and easy to replace to keep the music going ,
or get rechargable batteries....
mine lasts a day or 2 before I have to change the battery and I do not have to remember to charge it like an iPod

I use MP3 players a lot since I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I have two iPods, two Sony walkmans and a Zune. The iPods I don't use very much since my PC doesn't play well with iTunes. The Zune I also avoid since it has a very complicated loading system and a very short battery life, although it does have the best all around sound. My favorates are the two Sony Walkmans which are easy to load, easy to use, and have longer battery lives than either the iPods or the Zune.

I haven't tried any of the Sansa models yet, but will try one for my next purchase.

+1

I do about 3 transpacs a year and love my old Sansa M250. I just want a dumb as a stump player which lives in the QC15 case (with a spare battery for the Bose & one for the MP3 player) only for travel. Just give me 15+ hours on a AAA, shuffle play and I'm a happy camper. I've done some travel on very short notice and have been burned by not fully charging the iPod right before the flight.

Unfortunately there are almost no AAA players available any more. I picked up one of these a month ago in anticipation of the Sansa giving up the ghost. It looked good on paper but was very disappointing.

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-4GB-Player...dp_ob_title_ce

Loaded a couple of hundred songs, hit shuffle and it would only play a few different tunes over and over. e-mailed the mfgr who acknowledged that in shuffle it will only select 5-7 songs and play them in random order ad infinitum. Ack! guess it's off to ebay to search for some dinosaur.

I liked Creative but it's harder and harder to find them in the stores nowadays.

Right now I'm using Sony. There's nothing special about it but nothing to complain either

Sansa Clip comes up on sale pretty frequently and does the job for cheap. Check out brads deals site or google shopping.

Currently available for $44 (8GB Sansa Clip Zip) off google shopping

http://www.mybluetoothheadset.com/sa...gb-mp3-player/

Cheaper for other models.

you can also cut down file size with a less quality bit rate ,

and I do not like stereo as I like to have one ear available to hear traffic etc, so I set my MP3s up as monoral

my 2 GB MP3 player has about 60 hours of music !

To hear traffic?

I like Sansa Clip except for the battery life. To last for a whole day I'd need to buy a second one and transfer the memory card when the first one needs to be recharged.

I have an old Panasonic that can be placed into a small case with a AAA battery that not only keeps the player running but it recharges the internal battery at the same time. And the internal battery is replaceable if you want to buy a second one and do it that way instead. Unfortunately it only works with encrypted files that require special software to create. So I got tired of that nuisance.