Initially only a few MP3 players dominated the market. Now you can choose from dozens of players, each sporting a wide variety of features.

No matter which player you pick, be sure you test it in a retail store before you buy--even if you don't buy it from that store. When you test a player, pay close attention to the interface you use to choose the song you want to play: Large LCD screens will let you find and organize stored music more easily than tiny ones. Also look for a player that holds the most songs in the smallest package you can afford.

Feature	Flash memory-based players ($99-$350)	Hard drive MP3 players ($250-$500)
Size and weight	About the size of a deck of cards. Weight: a few ounces or less	Sports Walkman-size. Weight: about 0.3 to 1 pound
	An important consideration. People who will bring the player with them while exercising or on trips will want a smaller, lighter player. Apple's IPod (which weighs in at a third of a pound) is the exception to the rule that players with a hard drive weigh more than other types of players, although the constant evolution of the technology means that smaller and lighter players are always around the corner.
Storage capacity (at 128 kbps)	32MB to 512MB	2GB to 60GB
	An important consideration. At about 1MB per minute of CD-quality MP3 music, storage directly correlates to the number of songs you can upload from your PC. Some flash memory devices let you put songs on removable SmartMedia or CompactFlash storage cards, which can hold up to an additional 1GB of music.
Battery life	20 to 60 hours	60 hours
	Somewhat important. You may have to trade battery life for greater capacity. Hard drive devices chew through batteries. Flash-memory-based players with no moving parts are the most frugal. Some devices include rechargeable batteries.
Upload interface	Serial, USB, or removable media	USB 1.1, USB 2.0, FireWire, or removable media
	Somewhat important. The faster the interface, the faster you can load music onto the player. Some devices let you put songs on removable SmartMedia or CompactFlash storage cards. Speed is less important on players with smaller storage capacity, which is why larger hard-drive devices support the faster USB 2.0 or FireWire interface.
File format support	MP3, WMA, OGG	MP3, WMA/WMV, OGG, RMJ/RMX
	A minor consideration. Some players support Microsoft's WMA and ASF formats, and/or Real Networks' RMJ and RMX formats, in addition to MP3. Finding players that support the OGG format can be a little harder; if a manufacturer supports OGG in one of its players, it's more likely to support OGG in all of its players. Support for more file formats lets you listen to a wider variety of music files.