1. Without a doubt, sound is the most important quality in a MP3 player. Most players are sold with inferior earbuds -- either uncomfortable or bad sounding, or both. Even some of the best MP3 players may have earbuds that are not suitable for you. When budgeting for an MP3 player, plan to buy a set of third-party earbuds for the most comfort and the best sound.

2. Get the most storage space you can afford. Top-quality MP3 players are available with hard drives in the 20 GB range, although some go up to as much as 60 GB. You may think this is overkill for your particular music collection, I remember that the MP3 player can also be used as a data storage device for all types of computer files. If you frequently take work home and transfer files from one computer to another, the extra storage space will come in handy.

3. Look for a system which automatically synchronizes to the music collection on your computer. This is a very handy feature and can save you a lot of time in organizing and transferring music files. All you need to do is to plug the player into the USB port of your computer and the folder which contains your music collection is automatically compared with the files on your player, and if there are any new additions, they are automatically transferred.

4. Be sure to get the features that you need! Some MP3 players can display photos or allow you to play games while you are listing to music. Others have the inputs for recording audio from external devices like cassette players. Some players also have built-in microphones for recording memos or business meetings.

5. Be sure to get an MP3 player with an adequate display screen. Nothing can be more frustrating than trying to decipher the navigation system on a tiny LCD display. Many of the best MP3 players come with a full color display screen that is large enough to see all the information about the current song being played as well as for accessing the settings of the player.