I will put in my 2 cents. I always used creative mp3 players and was down on apple products. (No fm, higher price, you have to sync no drag and drop)
Then I won a Nano 3rd gen and I love it and the unique interface.I have a droid now but still use the nano at times. you have alternatives to Itunes. You can use double twist and other programs to load music on it. I dont think I would like a shuffle as it would be harder to find a specific song.