I am a regular reader of Stereophile and am avidly following the development of more convenient sources for high definition audio. I am going to buy my first iPod soon because it seems to have the best combination of ease-of-use and options for storing music at a high quality. I will likely, at some point, set up something to play my music from a computerized source too. I would like to rip my CDs only once, however. My priority would be to get as close to the quality of the original CD as possible in a file format that I can play on an iPod and on a computerized source such as the Slim Devices Transporter or other set-up.

Can some kind savant either point me towards a source to research this or give me your opinion? I am aware of at least two options: Apple Lossless and FLAC. I would also like to be able to download music in the same format, but that would be a secondary priority.

Thanks in advance for the help!