Say what you will about the bygone days of cassette decks, the medium lent itself extremely well to recording. Whether taping your favorite song off the radio, making a mix for your latest crush, or recording your toddler's musings on Sesame Street characters, recording sounds from the world around you was as simple as pressing a big red button.
These days, it's no easy feat to hunt down a portable music player capable of creating quality recordings with push-button simplicity. Some of these players, such as the Toshiba Gigabeat U and Cowon iAudio 7, can also detect the silences between songs and automatically split the recording into separate tracks--handy for recording entire albums in one pass.
If you're looking to add recording capability to an iPod, check out the Griffin iTalk Pro.
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 8.3 Excellent |
1. Cowon iAudio 7
The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.
Read review of the Cowon iAudio 7.
Price: $$149-150 (check latest prices)
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 7.3 Very Good |
2. Toshiba Gigabeat U
The Toshiba Gigabeat U is one tough, classy player that nails all the right features at a great price.
Read user review of the Toshiba Gigabeat U.
Price: $64-94 (check latest prices)
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| 8.3 Excellent |
3. Creative Zen V Plus
The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), check out the iRiver Clix instead.
Read user review of the Creative Zen V Plus.
Price: $130 (check latest prices)
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| 8.3 Good |
4. Cowon D2
If you can get on board with the Cowon D2's PDA-like touch screen interface, the reward is great-sounding audio, a smorgasbord of features, and a fantastic battery life.
Read user review of the Cowon D2.
Price: $151-160 (check latest prices)
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| 7.3 Good |
5. Creative Zen Nano Plus
If you're looking for a feature-packed flash player but you don't want to spend a ton to get one, Creative's Zen Nano Plus is the device for you.
Read user review of the Creative Zen Nano Plus.
Price: $n/a (check latest prices)
