Ipod's come in many different sizes/prices. My husband insisted I needed the largest capacity Ipod Classic and even after dozens of books and tons of music I haven't scratched the surface of capacity. The nice thing about the Ipod is if your car has a USB you can listen and control through your radio and the car keeps the Ipod charged at the same time. I did buy different ear-buds than the standard Ipod ear-buds as I found those very uncomfortable. Have not tried mine with a docking station though so I have no idea how the sound is. You'll buy and load everything through Itunes on your PC.