I picked up a pair of the vModa Bass Freq earbuds after reading reviews online of these and other entry level models. They were on sale for $25 shipped from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-Bass-Freq-Earbuds-Bling/dp/B000FUESSU/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1203098754&sr=8-1
I use these with an iPod shuffle at the gym and was looking for an upgrade from the crappy earbuds that come with the iPod. The freebee earbuds don't stay put (when exercising), don't sound good, and hurt my ears.
The vModas are a semi in-ear design and come with 3 sizes of earpieces for a proper fit. This allows noise issolation and also allows them to produce a reasonable amount of bass. They attenuate noise well enough that music or other people at the guym was not noticable and you have to remove them to have a conversation. Flying a couple weeks back, you could definetely hear some noise from the jet engine so don't expect the same kind of isolation as full over the ear cans.
The performance of the new earbuds is much better and it is much more enjoyable to listen to music now. There is much better mid range and highs and you actually have bass. The bass is probably a little exagerated, but that is the design of the "Bass Freq" model.
Anything would be an upgrade from the freebe iPod earbuds and these are a good entry level options. If you spent $100-300 for an iPod, I recomend upgrading the earbuds for a better listening experience. These are working great for my gym application where I couldn't rationalize spending $100+ for earbuds that I would sweat on and throw in my gym bag. For in-ear monitors with a flat frequency response, save your money and look elsewhere.
