I know Winamp uses LAME for CD Ripping. How does Winamp's CD Ripping compare in general to that of say CDEX or Easy CD-DA Extractor? I used to use CD-DA Extractor and in order to try to minimize the number of different programs on my PC have been using Winamp's built-in CD Ripping with no problems but I'm wondering if I'm sacrificing quality somewhere? All the CD's I rip are in brand-new condition.

The body of experience on this board seems to indicate that EAC is your best bet for ripping. I use it. Then I compress with LAME, currently using 3.96.1.

First, to be technical, LAME is used only to encode/compress the audio to MP3 and has nothing to do with the extraction of the music from the CD.

If you're concerned about ripping quality, then Exact Audio Copy can have distinct advantages over other ripping software. When set up and used properly, EAC can assure a rip that is as error-free as possible.

In theory - if a CD is in absolutely perfect, error-free condition, then EAC / CDex / Easy CD-DA Extractor / Winamp shouldn't produce mp3 copies that have any noticeable difference in sound quality (when using equal LAME encoding settings).

But since there's no guarantee that all CDs will be error free (even if they are brand-new), and if you don't want to leave anything to chance, you should consider that you might be better off just learning to use EAC for all ripping.