More clear thinking from "clearthinker".
To echo previous posters, making a personal use copy of a CD is perfectly legal for the obvious reason that the purchaser of the CD has already compensated "the artists that made the music".
On the actual topic, I've heard good reports of the Melco drive for ripping purposes.
Personally, life is too short so I'm keeping my CD player for as long as possible and just streaming the music I don't have on CD.