I'm an audio quality snob, and the iPod (other than the shuffle) has some of the best audio quality anywhere. The iPod isn't some overhyped fad product, it really is the best MP3 player out there if you want consistent build quality for a fierce price.
But since you're just being a hater, the only other option out there for you that's really worth a damn is the Zune 30 or the new Zune 80 which comes out in November.
Zune's are great players, they have a lot of cool features and have good sound quality, but if you think Apple locks you into a system you haven't seen anything. The new Zune firmware upgrade coming next week ads podcast support (finally) and allows you to keep your "squirted" songs indefinitely...though you can still only play them three times.
Zune marketplace is really good, its exactly like iTunes actually, and you can have subscriptions if you like. Zunes now support MP4 and H.264 video codecs, but the lossless support is still only of the Windows Media Variety (which, in my opinion, sounds better than WAV but not as good as Apple Lossless or FLAC).
The only downside is the battery life. The Zune gets about 12 hours of audio on a good day. No one knows what the Zune 80's battery life is like right now, but it's competing with the iPod Classic's 40 hours of audio and 8 hours of video. Good luck Allard.
If you're willing to go the flash route and deal with less memory, iRivers, Sony Walkmans, Sandisk Sansas, and M$'s new flash Zunes are all good options...but then again so is the Nano.
