It was sometime in 2004 that I realized the following:
1) I owned several hundred music CDs.
2) I was rapidly acquiring a great number of mp3s, which I would then burn to CD-R, thus increasing the quantity of CDs in my life.
3) I could use an mp3 player to literally carry ALL of my music with me at ALL times.
So I bought one, a Creative Zen Jukebox, 60GB, and I returned it a few days later. Something told me something better was out there.
I got an iPod, also 60GB, one of the first video-enabled versions. I got it for Christmas one year and spent several nights after the holidays dilligently ripping all of my CDs as 192kbps mp3 files. The CDs went into a box; a few years later, I sold them all.
There was no looking back.
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I have an iPad, a decent Android phone, two laptops, several external hard drives, and a little iPod shuffle I use when I do yard work.
My 160GB iPod Classic is the most important consumer electronic device I own.
To most, the idea of 160GB worth of music on one's person at all times is insane. But if that idea makes sense to you, then it makes A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE.
I have about 200GB of music on an external portable hard drive. It includes those several hundred CDs I ripped years ago, many bootleg recordings, stuff I bought from iTunes and Amazon, and albums I've acquired through a variety of not-quite-legal means. The "essential" material from that library lives on my iPod Classic.
If I'm driving, I usually start with playlists I have set up to capture all the songs I rate four or five stars. It's like a personal radio station that continues to grow its playlist as I explore records and find new great songs.
If I hear a song that reminds me of a great album, or puts me in the mood for a certain artist, then a few spins of the click wheel takes me to that album, or that artist. That may not seem important to you, but to a music geek, it's invaluable.
For me, music is like this endless constant conversation going on every day of my life. In the car, at the office, I'm frequently listening to something. Each song, each record, leads me onward to the next.
The iPod Classic is what makes that possible. I hope it never goes away.
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