Based on my experience, and the experience of people I know, this modest little player might well be enough to get you started (or hooked, even). If you don't like it, or you find you're not listening to MP3 files portably, you haven't lost all that much ... but I would bet this gets you interested.
I can get approximately 60 songs on my 512MB Samsung player, 120 on my 1GB players (I suggest using files of 192kbps or larger (check the numerous Head-Fi threads regarding file size), but I guess 128kbps would be OK for a 512MB player if space is an issue) -- that's roughly four complete CDs or the equivalent. Not bad, for starters. And there's nothing that says you can't swap out songs daily, for variety.
I have Creative flash players in several capacities, and have even started mailing my Creative Zen Stone to friends/family in other parts of the country, to get them to listen to something new or to listen to a tiny portable player on the go.
The 512MB Creative might seem at first like a come-down from Mini-Disc, but the whole MP3 experience can be varied and fun. For example, it's interesting to burn 200 MP3 files to a single CD and play them back on an MP3-compatible CD player. I like connecting high-capacity players to a home stereo and playing them randomly -- it's like the best possible radio station in the world (for me, since I selected the songs). I like keeping a small flash player in a pocket at all times and listening at work, in waiting rooms, when walking around, etc. I like making playlists -- it's just a digital form of recording a mix tape.
With MP3 players, you have lots of options in terms of how/where/when you listen to music, audio books or podcasts: home, school, work, commuting, traveling, walking, exercising, waiting rooms, through headphones/earphones, through car audio systems, through home audio systems/portable speakers, etc. If you can accept the limitations of the format and maximize your listening enjoyment, what's not to like about that?
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Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5
Sources (in order of purchase):
2nd Generation 10GB iPod for Windows (retired)
Creative Muvo 256MB
Creative Muvo 1GB (out on loan)
Rio Carbon 5GB
Cowon iAudio 5 1GB (out on loan)
Rio Karma 20GB (low-mileage collector’s item)
Creative Zen Nano 1GB
Samsung YP-U2 512MB
4th Generation 40GB iPod (monochrome; used as home jukebox)
2nd Generation iPod Nano 4GB
Creative Zen Stone 1GB
iRiver T60 2GB
