The best portable music players, according to hackers
11 portable music players recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedApple iPod102 people recommend it
- Built to lastApple iPod touchowners report a median of 18.7 years
- Least regretApple iPod nano15 recommend, 1 criticize
All portable music players
- Apple iPodLoved for its click wheel and simple, polished offline interface, with old units still working years later; critics cite clunky iTunes-dependent syncing and glitchy, unreliable hard drives.102recommend
- Sony MiniDisc playerPraised for easy recording, compact re-recordable discs and random access versus cassettes. Most critics say it was too expensive and poorly marketed.40recommend
- Sony WalkmanPocket players that play music without a phone, praised for compact, sturdy design and extras like AM radio; critics say newer Android-based models are slow and expensive.20recommend
- Apple iPod ClassicPeople recommend it for its simple, polished interface and easy modding with Rockbox, SD cards and SSDs. Critics say the display is dated and finding specific tracks is hard.18recommend
- Apple iPod nanoPeople recommend it for its small size, responsive feel and the way it handled a music library, with many saying nothing since has matched it. One critic notes weak audiobook support.15recommend
- Apple iPod touchPeople recommend it as a small, intuitive pocket device that lasts for years. The common caveat is that locked software and OS updates have made some units unusable.13recommend
- SanDisk Sansa Clip+Recommended as a better mp3 player than others, with good battery life and night listening. Common caveat: the clip and headphone socket break.7recommend
- Apple iPod ShuffleRecommended as a simple, light workout music player with good audio for its time. One critic called it pricey and said iTunes would not let them use it.7recommend
- Tangara MP3 player by Cool Tech ZoneRecommended as a durable, open-source MP3 player that suits Hacker News buyers. The most common caveat is that it can be underpowered and crash under load.7recommend
- Innioasis Y1A cheap, iPod-style music player that people recommend as a single-purpose device with a nice click wheel. It has no internet access.6recommend
- HiBy R1Owners recommend it as a non-Android music player for about $60 that runs Linux; the one recurring complaint is Bluetooth pairing with a car.5recommend