<font color='#000000'>I read an article somewhere on someone who did a comparison between several different songs, in 128 bit AAC, and various MP3 bitrates. He came to the conclusion that a 128 bit AAC was somewhere between a 128 and 192 bit MP3, depending on the song. Of course this is just one person's opinion, but I think I remember hearing elsewhere that a 128 bit AAC file had no chance of approaching CD quality.
I don't have an iPod, and if I used iTunes I'd want to use it to make compilation CD's from various artists, or different songs from the same artist. It think if iTunes could offer a higher quality, I would definately use it.
Etymotic makes some great earbuds, from what I hear.
Josh</font>