Well, what I really like about the empeg design is that it is just totally bulletproof. It does what it does (and nothing else) and it does it really well. The whole "tweak order" and "exclude as child" functionality is awesome and not something I am aware of in PC player software.

My goal is to have a dedicated home stereo component that plays mp3s that has a large library and is reliable (meaning not Windoze based).

The requirement is not really for me, but I also made an mp3 server for a friend of mine (who just ordered an empeg after seeing mine). He has a CD collection nearly as large as mine. He's not a computer geek like me, so what I need for him is a machine that can be left in the "player" software and be totally dedicated to that task.

Maybe what I really need is someone to recommend a linux mp3 player that has robust playlist structuring capabilty.

Thanks for the thoughts...
Jim