Even though selecting the right MP3 player for you may seem like an incredibly easy task, it can be an incredibly difficult undertaking.  Before actually shopping for an MP3 player, most people are completely unaware of all the different types of MP3 players.  Subsequently, when most people actually go to buy an MP3 player, they are bombarded with questions for which they have no answers.  If you use the following guide to decide which MP3 player you want, however, the task can be made far easier:

Price:

The most important thing to consider when purchasing an MP3 player is your budget.  When deciding how much you can pay for an MP3 player, you should be aware of the fact that a cheaper price does not always mean that you are buying a bad MP3 player.  Most likely, the major cost factor will always be how much memory the MP3 player has.

Cheapest ($150 or less) - Most likely, you will only be able to find flash MP3 players in this price range which generally have 1GB of memory or less.  While it is true that these particular MP3 players have the smallest amount of memory, they are generally the lightest, smallest MP3 players available; they are also the best for battery life.

Mid-Grade ($150-$250) - Most likely, these MP3 players will have somewhere between 1GB and 4GB of memory; they can either have flash memory or a hard disk.  Generally speaking, these MP3 players are the best buy due to the fact that they can store more songs, have additional features; they are still fairly compact, and they still have good battery life.

Expensive (Over $250) - These MP3 players almost always have a hard disk.  Additionally, these MP3 players can store an entire library of music, and they offer an abundance of features.  The downside to these MP3 players is the fact that they generally eat batteries, and they are quite large in size.

Flash vs. Hard Drive:

How much does the size, the memory storage capacity and the nature of the memory matter to you?

Flash Players - These MP3 players generally have 128MB to 4GB capacity and will store around a thousand songs. These MP3 players are small, light, don't skip, have the best battery life and are inexpensive. However, they have smaller capacity, small buttons, smaller screen and also is higher MB/$. generally have 128MB to 4GB capacity and will store around a thousand songs. These MP3 players are small, light, don't skip, have the best battery life and are inexpensive. However, they have smaller capacity, small buttons, smaller screen and also is higher MB/$.

Hard Drive Players - 3GB to 1000GB (yes, that's a Terabyte!). These MP3 players can store whole music libraries on their drives. They also have extra space for some more advanced features like photo storange and playback, has larger screens, is easier to navigate, can run some software apps and is overall the best MB/$ value. However, these are more expensive, heavier, bigger, easier to break and might skip at times.