I have a 3G 15GB Ipod and Windows XP PC and want to load high quality audio from CD's to the Ipod and nothing else... I will not be burning to CD's ... some compression is required, straight WAVs would be great but I want more tracks than that would allow... without jumping through too many conversion/ software hoops, what is the best approach?... I have Shure E2c earbuds as well... Thanks!

you only have a few options .. WAV, AIFF, MP3 or AAC in the M4A extension.

you can do a search for ipod or itunes AAC for some results.

if you aren't using it to burn, the easiest is the iTunes AAC. you can set the bitrate to what you want and let it handle the rest. that's the easiest.

I would suggest using iTunes to rip and trying 128, 160, and 192 kbps settings. Find the one you like, and start encoding.