MP3 player advice wanted from complete novice

[EnglishTeeth]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy an MP3 player for DH this Christmas for him to wear when he goes running but have no knowledge or experience of them at all. I've heard that with some players you can only download tracks from websites which have a subscription service (ie, I think, you have to keep paying the subscription to be able to listen to the tracks that you've downloaded). Are there any sites (and compatible MP3 players) that don't need you to do this and instead just let you buy the track without needing to keep paying a subscription to be able to listen to it?

I'm shocked at my ignorance of all this!

Ipods let you use iTunes where you pay for each track and you can also upload your own CDs and they also have a dinky little elastic strap you can buy to put around your arm for running.

Thanks - apart from ipod and its site, which sites are good for downloading tracks that you just buy rather than having to subscribe to?

Napster, the zen is compatible with their 'To go' service. You can either sign up for pay as you go downloads or pay a sub (15 quid a month, I think although they have special offers) and download as many tracks as you want to your player.