Quote Originally Posted by Breine View Post
Quote Originally Posted by ShlupQuack View Post
I recommend the Creative Zen. My husband and I both have one, and I like it much more than iPods. Check it out and see if they have a model with the features you're looking for--I think you'll like it.
I've heard good things about Creative Zen too.
I'll say this about Creative Zen; I had an old one (really old at this point. It only had 512mb if I remember correctly) and it was damn near indestructable. By the time I replaced it the batteries were being held in by the same tape that was keeping the casing together. I once had to dig the play button back out with a pencil that was the only thing handy at the time after dropping it on tile floor. Looking at their website now though, I'm not sure they're making them as rugged these days.

Anyway, I don't really listen to music while I run anymore so I went with a 120GB Zune that I'm very happy with. Easy to use, works great, and the UI is simple and intuitive. It'll do everything you wanted except probably your third point, but you can always organize the songs however you want in playlists anyway so it's not a huge issue. If you're going to run with an mp3 player then just grab one of the versions with flash memory and go to town.