1. Apple iPod Nano 16GB
£159 (8GB: £129), www.apple.com/uk

Performance: The king of smaller MP3 players has had an image overhaul with the removal of buttons in favour of a glossy, 1.54-inch touchscreen. A Shuffl e-like clip adds even easier portability.

Love: Plenty of storage and FM radio, plus Genius playlists. Very small indeed

Hate: The touchcreen’s too small for multi-touch. Less sexy than of old

MORE: Apple iPod Nano 16GB review

2. Apple iPod Classic 160GB
£193, www.apple.com/uk

Performance: Rejoice; the iPod Classic is back to full 160GB of storage, making it the perfect companion for true music lovers. Its hard disk innards and smallish screen to date it somewhat , however.

Love: Enough storage for weeks of music, plus plenty of pics and video

Hate: Less than cutting-edge design makes this the touch’s dowdy dad

3. Sony Walkman A845
£140, www.sony.co.uk

Performance: A valid alternative to Apple’s MP3 players, with a 2.8-inch AMOLED screen, 16GB memory, BBC iPlayer support, built-in noise cancelling and 29 hours of music playback

Love: Astounding sound quality and bundled headphones worth £80

Hate: The awkward interface is no match for Apple’s slick user experience

4. Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB
£39,  www.apple.com/uk

Performance: Buttons return and VoiceOver remains to announce track names. Genius playlists have also been added to the wearable, gym-friendly player

Love: The joyous return of clickable controls. Very affordable and small

Hate: Limited storage. No screen

MORE: Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB review

5. Creative Zen X-FI 32GB
£161 (16GB: £150, 8GB: £92), uk.europe.creative.com

Performance: With a sizeable 32GB of storage and an SD slot the X-Fi has capacity to spare. It can also stream music from your PC via Wi-Fi and play video

Love: Very fine audio. Wi-Fi. an SD slot gives extra storage

Hate: Fiddly controls. Nasty feel