Even the MusicMatch employees use EAC and LAME!

Well, just one at least.

I use LAME because the VBR in MusicMatch (Fraunhofer, to be specific) seems to create an error that screws up the timecode in players (like empeg).

I also like EAC because it's highly configurable. MusicMatch isn't because it's geared towards the average user. On the same note, I generally use Winamp for my player because it's a very lean application. If I need all the bells and whistles, then I open MusicMatch.