Unless you are already hooked into the whole Apple ecosystem thing (I don't believe you are) you might want to consider other options as well like the Sansa Fuze.
I have 2 of these and am quite pleased with how they sound. It has a nice form factor. The 8 GB version on
Amazon for $118 with free shipping. You might be able to buy for less if you shop around. I bought mine on sale for around $100 last year.
Note the micro SD slot to expand if you need extra storage or want an easy way to swap songs in and out of the player on the fly. Lots of favorable reviews on the Internet.
