Going to Chicago...buying electronic equipment

[cossie]

Well, I'm not specifically, but my folks are for a holiday.

I'd like to get a new mp3 player, I have a very old philips one that just devours AAA batteries. I use it all the time, on the bus, listening to tracks for gigs, recording little jams etc. I'm not interested in one with video playback or anything.

My girlfriend recommends I get a Creative Zen of some sort rather than an iPod. So I have 2 questions:

a) Anyone have a recommendation for an mp3 player, as I know what's on offer in the US is quite different from here in Europe?

and,

b) where would be the best place in Chicago to tell my parents to look?

Thanks,

Cossie