I'm looking for a nice set of cans.

I also recommend headroom dot com for good evaluations of all kinds of headphones and they are friendly and easy to talk to on the phone. I have bought many from them and have always been pleased. 30 day return policy. You will have to decided on many things but if you are going to use them in noisy environments you may consider in-ear monitors. Good luck.

Thanks Tgrisham i'll check out headroom. I've tried in-ear monitors but there is something about the shape of my ear, they never stay in for the length of a song. thy just slide right out. I've tried many different types and shapes but nothing will stay in.

I've found that electronic noise-cancelling cans can be bothersome after a while (perhaps I'm just sensitive to them - they give me the sensation of "sucking on my ears" when they are turned out...). But I've also found that decent in-ear monitors can do a very good job of blocking outside noise. The key is getting a good seal in your ear. Full sized cans will generally sound better of course, but at the cost of additional bulk and less effective noise cancellation (and audibility to your neighbors for open designs).

Pairing a decent set of IEMs with a nice portable amp can be very satisfying, and not necessarily too $$$. Feed it lossless files from a portable device and you're good to go.

I use a Ray Samuels portable amp at work, and bring it with me on planes/trains too, and really like it (its an SR71A). I use it with IEMs (one of the upper-line Shures - can't remember model name - along with UltimateEars TripleFi 10s) plus my full sizers (Beyer T1 and Audez'e LCD2) and it does a great job. It's a great sidekick to a full-blown headphone amp, or a substitute for one in a pinch.

I got an Email from "The Cable Co." a couple days ago. They have started a "head phone" lending library like they have for cables. Hygeine questions aside, it does allow for in-home audition and might be worth checking out.

I 2nd the Headroom recommendation. Purchased Yuin PK2s from them. Not that they will meet your specific need but I listen to Pandora while falling asleep and it doesn't bother my wife. I also think they sound great.

KOSS Sportapro's are great for non-classical music. Two 'audiophile' drawbacks, they don't cost very much, and they have a lifetime warranty. Over the years I have sent a couple of pair back to Koss for repair of replacement.

For other non-portable cans, Senn HD 650 or AKG 702. These aren't small or portable, but they do sound great and after all, what's the point of buying inferior headphones? The best ones aren't that expensive.

I bought a pair of Grados. Listened to them once for about an hour. Extremely uncomfortable.
Cheers.