Personally ,I do not like sony. Because the price is higher than others and I do not like the
un-compatibility of sony's products.
Before I bought mine, i did a research. I have opened many CD/Players'
cover. None of them interests me (to light). So I think it is common problem for all CD Player and CD/MP3 player.
And I need an extra function:Radio(AM & FM both), because I think after you have listened to music for hours, radio will give you a rest.
I found Panasonic and Sony have models that support CD/MP3/AM & FM. Others may only support FM (AM is not supported).
For Panasonic, I recommend Panasonic SL-SV550 CD, and SL-SV570. 570 is a new version of 550(functions are the same, the only difference is that the cover of 550 is better than 570).Both of them do not support ID3 tag which is a useless funtion(some models do support ID3, but how can they support Chinese ID3 tag?Impossible.). 550 ($139.99) 570($129.99). For more information:
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/audio/portable/
Here is the picture of 570
I just came from RadioShack. Panasonic recently released a new model: SLMP-75? (hehe, i am not sure),it do support ID3 tag. It adds an extra LCD to 570's cover to display ID3. looks ugly. price maybe $139.99
As I remembered, sony mainly puts mp3/radio function on their sport series of CD walkman.
Such as: Sony D-SJ301 S2 Sports CD Walkman , Sony D-FS601 S2 Sports CD
The Model Sony D-NF400H($129.99) also support MP3/AM FM/ID3 tag.
Also sony has D-NF610 support TV audio signal + (CD MP3 AM/FMradio). really cool. but the price....
For more info:
www.sony.ca
Shopping tips:
the prices listed are M.S.R.P.(Manufacturer Recommend Ratail Price). So the price in RadioShark,Futureshop, Bestbuy are the same.
It is highly recommended to go to some computer stores to buy CD/MP3 Player. Because, they can give you big discount.
I got my SV-SL570 2 months ago at a Toronto Computer Store for $88 + tax. Really cost effective. Everything works fine. I have 2 Ni-Mh batteries, last 80 hours. The only disadvantage is: the volume is low(panasonic's problem in the CD player, I do not know if other brands have the same problem) but it is absolutly large enough for me.
Good luck