Portable players recommendations

[wicked.ludicrous]

I'm asking for any recommendations anybody would give for portable mp3 players. I've read that the Clip+ has great sound, but nothing about anything else. The Sony E34x and S54x players also came to mind, as it's something I'm looking for.
So yeah, I'm looking to get a rather small player that has great sound.
 
*Note: please don't refer any Apple products, as I hate the company and its players aren't worth my ears
 Thanks!

 

[j57park]

cowon j3/s9/d2+?
I can say d2+ has fantastic sound quality and a lot of forum users say they are very pleased with the cowon SQ

 

[Hero Kid]

Have you considered what features you do and don't want? That's generally a great place to start when asking for suggestions for a new player to buy.

 

[wicked.ludicrous]

Feature-wise, I don't need much... Just a stopwatch would be nice for running. So something that's maybe flash-drive would be something nice. No need for radio. If a player is rockbox-able, that would solve all questions =)
Memory-wise, something from 32 gigs to 64 is what I'm looking for.
 
And all the Cowon players are too much out of my price range. I know this is pretty low, but something $170 and under is my price range.