Sony Portable Mini-Disc Player/Recorder (MZ-R500PCNAVY)
Impressed and thankful
I recently received Sony's MZR500 MiniDisc Recorder as a gift and have been amazed with its capabilities.  Like other portable digital recorders this little machine accepts downloads from the Internet (haven't tried Audible.com yet, though), plus it records in digital and analog modes from just about any source, from Tape Recorders to CD players.  I've been able to save some old, beloved tapes and to intermingle tracks from tapes and CDs to create my own mixes.  And the sound is excellent. A great bridge between old and new.  The MiniDisc does use small CDs, which means you'll have to carry a few around for long trips from home.  But they are small and can, using different recording modes, store up five hours of audio.  Plus they don't skip!  I dropped mine while recording, but couldn't find where in the track it occurred.  Bravo!  One warning: Recordings taken in digital mode can only be recorded from in analog.  Still, it comes out great.