Should I be concerned which format I rip my CD collection?

I just download Winamp and will probably upgrade to the pro version this weekend. My computer is brand new and I have just started prepping my CD collection to be transferred. I will be using this music for my ipod (20 gb non-video), Pioneer Inno (if possible), winamp itself, and possible a creative zen or ipod video down the road. I currently have only an 80gb HD so space is a concern, though my music collection is rather small compared to most people (150-200 CD's).

My concern is what format to rip into. The default is MP4/LC-ACC, but the Pro version allows MP3. Another possibility would be buying a nice 300gb external drive. Could I do something like rip into a lossless format and then use that to rip into whatever I needed, or possible rip into several formats? I have seen FLAC mentioned before.

Basically I just want something that works and won't give me problems down the road. I am not an audiophile by any means, but I don't want to take tons of time and then just have to redo everything a year later.

Also, should I just like Winamp RIP them into there own folders within my C:/users/name/mymusic directory?

I try to learn this stuff overnight and get so confused

 

A lossless format like FLAC would be the best if you can. The reason for this is that with any format you use, you will probably need to re-encode to another format in the future. When you use a lossy format like mp3 and then re-encode to a newer lossy format, you are losing quite a bit of integrity. I can't comment on the quality difference between the lossy formats, but mp3 at least does have the advantage of wide-spread adoption, which would lower your chance of having to re-encode any time soon.

 

mp3 is actually the worst format you can use, quality-wise. both wmv and .ogg have better compression/quality. (But it has the advantage that you can play it on *anything*)

The deciding factor is probably going to be which formats you need. If you have a player that can only play MP3 files, for example, the choice is pretty plain...
If possible, I'd go with .ogg (for best quality/file size, and because it's a completely free format with no license restrictions, unlike mp3), or maybe FLAC if you want the very best quality, at the expense of file size.
As msiner said, if you're going to have to convert it later on, better stick with the highest quality format.

I'd switch from Winamp to another player, such as Foobar2000 though. Haven't looked back since I started using it a couple of months ago.

 

Thanks for the help. If I am going to use ogg or FLAC should I invest in a large external hard drive?

One of my problems is my 20gb Ipod, I could sell and get a creative model, but would rather not spend more money than I already have and will.

Jalf, what make foobar2000 so much better than winamp? Can it work with portable players like my ipod? One of the rason I chose winamp is because a) it will work with my ipod and b) offers many more options and is less bloated than itunes.

If you guys have any other suggestions I am all ears