If I wanted an MP3 player again, in 2023, and wanted to rip cds to it and put digitally purchased albums on it, as actual owned files (not inside an proprietary ecosystem where I pay to only listen to that track within that service) could I still do that? What would I need? I don’t own, and can’t afford, a “real computer”, but i recall having lots of compatibility issues at the time between my mp3 player and computer os anyway. I’ve got an ipad and a pixel. Is there any feasible, non-ridiculously-difficult way to do this? Do they still sell any mp3 players? Do any of the old ones work with modern tech? I miss hearing my music on a simple, quiet, offline device without ads or streaming services.
I haven’t tested, but you should be able to hook up a USB CD drive to an Android phone. No idea if anyone’s bothered to make a CD ripping app for Android, though.
If you’re willing to skip the CD step then they’re are lots of ways, even without SD cards. Lots of cheap MP3 players work as USB drives. You can turn your phone into host mode and just plug them in to your phone and transfer files.
To get the songs, torrent or download or rip your songs with NewPipe or whatever. Lots of ways to get mp3s.
Or rip the CDs at the library and put them directly into your MP3 player. You can borrow the CDs from the library for free, too, as an added bonus.