If I wanted an MP3 player again, in 2023, and wanted to rip cds to it and put digitally purchased albums on it, as actual owned files (not inside an proprietary ecosystem where I pay to only listen to that track within that service) could I still do that? What would I need? I don’t own, and can’t afford, a “real computer”, but i recall having lots of compatibility issues at the time between my mp3 player and computer os anyway. I’ve got an ipad and a pixel. Is there any feasible, non-ridiculously-difficult way to do this? Do they still sell any mp3 players? Do any of the old ones work with modern tech? I miss hearing my music on a simple, quiet, offline device without ads or streaming services.
As others have suggested you could just your phone as an MP3 player, which I have been doing for multiple years now and works just fine, you just need an app for playback (you could just use something that’s already on the phone, but the experience will definitely be better with something dedicated); I use Poweramp, which is like 5 bucks but it’s definitely worth that much. If you want to use an MP3 player, they definitely still make these, from cheap ones for like 20 bucks to, in my opinion, completely overpriced ones for 300+ bucks for audiophiles. If you also want to rip your CDs, you can try this reddit thread. They used a tablet but I guess it should work an android phone just as well (unless Pixel doesn’t want to…)