I like my iPod and I won't buy anything else. Awesome little thing, and it's got the battery pack for extended power. 72 hour run time. And, it's a first gen, and it's never had a problem. Those people who trash talk iPod for their crappy lifespan are the people who don't take care of their electronics.
The name isn't all you're paying for, for an iPod either, they're very good MP3 players and I wouldn't want to get anything else. However, I believe that Creative's MP3 players are evenly matched with iPod.
~Leo
P.S. Don't get a Zune, those are the biggest pieces of crap the market has to sell.