Ive been googling my brain out for hours and reading tons of reviews...

Ive pretty much decided to go with a high bit rate vbr. (192, 256?)

I can't decide between

itunes (mp3 fhg?) - easiest to use, good excuse for an ipod
itunes aac - copy protected? not as good as mp3?
wma - not-protected when ripped- smaller files, same quality?
ogg - totally free, cool players that support it

mp3 lame via dbpower amp - fairly easy to use, free?
mp3 lame via EAC with lame - seems pretty "advanced"?


PLEASE HELP!

I just want to get sound so good that I can't tell the difference between the rippped and origional versions. I'm not an audiophile, I just want it to be good quality, AND fairly future proof.

Thank you!

Kelcey

I think OGG format gives you the best quality.
MP3 is still good and popular, can be played on almost "everything", portable mp3 players, etc. I usually rip my CDs to MP3 via LAME encoder.
iTunes.. yes, good excuse for iPod.
WMA... i hate it, $uck$

It will never sound the same as CD quality (320 is close to studio quality) since limited
by sampling frequency (44.1kHz) and capability of your sound card (with digital-audio converter).

Using 192-256 bitrate is good compromise in terms of quality/compression rate.
MP3 is most popular format. You can use LAME/Faunhaufer codec with any ripping software that supports plugins.
CDEx/AudioGrabber are two of my favorite ripper/encoders.

Not a lot of difference among formats. AAC/MP4 are very good, but more popular with Mac users. Most players like Winamp will play all the formats including OGG, AAC, MP4, MP3 etc. Unless you have a really trained ear, you won't notice the difference at the same bitrate. To ease compatibility issues when it comes to burning, I would stick with MP3 or WMA on PC platform. Variable bitrate is good choice, but if decide to play on portable/DVD player.. it may not play properly.