Using an MP3 player

[Ruth541]

Do you have to download from the internet onto a MP3 player or is there a way you can transfer the contents of a CD onto it? 

[OBonio]

You can 'rip' from a normal music CD to mp3.  There are many programs out there to do this like AudioGrabber and I think even Windows Media Player can do it (though it might rip to WMA, not mp3).  Have a look on http://www.tucows.com for CD rippers.

[beamer]

If your MP3 player has a built-in encoder then, yes, you can transfer the contents of a CD directly onto it. Otherwise you will need to rip to MP3 via your computer.

Windows Media Player will only rip to WMA.

[PatTheRat]

Or if you want to download, get something like bearshare lite from www.download.com Download your music to the saved file they provide, plug in your mp3 plaer and when its drive appears, copy and paste them in there.