Wow, they STILL want $180 for the re-released radio? WTF. Maybe they need to look at their market again. That device has always been a $149 value, removing features (but including the batteries) doesn't change that.

I never recommended SBS/LMS to non-techie friends because I didn't feel the solution was polished enough and certainly a maintenance nightmare for someone who would not or could not spend the time to baby it.

It made a fine way to play any iTunes content and could even access the iTunes library. At least with iTunes-bought media you could be assured that the tracks contained the proper tags and album artwork.

But again, everything I've read online plus going by everyone else I know, these people don't necessarily collect complete albums. LMS will still work, but if random play is going to be what's used most often, it's significant overkill and a lot more time consuming to set up that feature compared to iTunes directly or via iOS' default music app.

I only buy complete releases. Primarily albums, but also some singles which will invariably contain B-sides. Everything is tagged perfectly from the source or by other means if I'm converting the media myself. I know plenty of people online that have collections much larger than my own. But personally (friends and neighbors) none that come anywhere close. And I've grown my collection slowly over the past few years, maybe averaging only 2 releases per month.