So you've decided to get a digital music player to spice up your listening life. Unfortunately, you're swamped with an overwhelming array of options and you can't seem to pick the right one for you. To help you make a good choice among the features and benefits of every model, it's best if you identify your needs. What's your priority--a large memory or a long battery life? Knowing what you want helps you get started in making a decision.

First off, consider the size of your existing music library. The kind of player you'll get must depend on the number of songs you have in your collection. If your collection rivals that of an FM station, don't buy a flash drive player because it only offers a limited disk space. From the line of players your favorite brand offers, choose one that can fit in your music library to get your money's worth.

To help you with your decision-making, here are some factors to consider:

1. Song format -- Some formats are more compressed than others. For example, if your songs are mostly downloaded from the internet, they're likely to come in MP3 format. On the other hand, songs ripped from CDs usually come in WMA format. MP3 files are bigger than WMA files, so if your songs are MP3s, you'll be able to put in fewer of them than if they are in WMA form. If your songs are MP3s, better buy a player with a larger disk space. If they are in WMA format, you can buy a player that offers smaller space, but make sure that it's WMA compatible, or else it'll be pretty much useless.

2. Song length -- Don't rely on the product specifications of MP3 players--when they say they can hold a certain number of songs, they're referring to ones that are more or less four minutes long. However, some songs are less than three minutes in length, while others go over five minutes. Some even go beyond eight minutes, like the songs of 80s metal bands. The longer the song, the more memory it occupies. Check your current playlist to see the average running time of the songs in your collection so you can get an idea on how many you can really fit in within a certain space.

3. Favorite tracks vs. whole albums -- Many people buy albums just for a few tracks. If you're one of those people, then take your time to rip only your favorite songs and not the whole album. Sure, ripping songs one by one takes more time than ripping the whole CD, but at least you'll be using your player's disk space only for music you love listening to.

The guidelines above will help you find a digital audio player that's best for your current music library. If you make the right choice, you'll be able to have a wonderful music experience, and that alone is worth every penny you'll spend.