www.dbpoweramp.com

free, uses LAME, has CDDB, can do VBR, also plugins for other formats such as WMA, ogg, etc...
It can rip from CD or line input. It can also convert almost any format into other formats or sometimes I use it to convert an mp3 at say 192kbps to 64kbps to fit a couple cd's into my Rio 600.

I used to use EAC and had some issues, althought this was years ago so it might be improved. But i've been using DBPoweramp ever since, I love it, does everything I need it to and more. You can also choose how much CPU you want it to use so if your going to walk away from your computer while it's ripping, set it on high and it'll go quicker, if your working on other things while it's ripping, set it on low and i'tll take longer but it won't slow your computer down in the process(noticably).