Best CD to FLAC software and FLAC playback software


I searched the archives and the most recent posts are from 2009-10.
Those posts recommended JRiver and DB PowerAmp.
Has anything changed since then or are they still highly rated?

gdnrbob
+1 DBPoweramp for CDs. Excellent validation tools not present in JRiver, though I use JRiver to rip Blu-Ray movies. 
Dbpoweramp to rip and jriver for play back. Been using this combo since I moved to computer audio about 2 years ago. 
You can  use JRiver just as it comes without a lot of complexities. If, however, you want to do something like create multiple different views with multiple lines of thumbnail text sorted in particular ways it can get quite complicated. It has a full expression language for manipulating text. For example, I sort my display be last name of the artist (or composer for classical) put display the full name on the screen. To do that I use the expression language to extract the last name for the full name. You do not need to do that, but I can, so I do. If you are happy with the displays as they come, it is pretty straightforward. There is also a client-server mode, which takes a little to set up, especially if you want to use it from outside your home, through a fire wall. And there are a lot more options.

None of this is difficult if you are somewhat computer savvy. If, however, you are not computer savvy, it can get somewhat complicated, but only if you want to do significant customizations. There is a very active forum that can help you with issues like the ones I mention. As I said, the complexity comes when you want to use all the flexibility of design that the program has.
If you use JRiver Media Center, you can just rip with that. I find it does a fine job on most disks. On some damaged disks, dBpoweramp does a better job. JRiver is a great tagging program.

Honestly, EAC  is a great program, but it is no longer in development. And, it is slow.

JRiver is a great player, but it's flexibility comes with a level of complexity that makes it hard to use for some. But if you are comfortable with that, it is a very flexible program.

This is for Windows. There are different options for Apple.
I looked at EAC, but it doesn't seem to carry over the artwork and track info like DBpoweramp.
If I ripped with EAC, can DB be used to insert the above mentioned info to the ripped disc, afterward?
I also use EAC, mainly because it tests and error checks the disc before burning it onto the hard drive. Takes a long time though (around 10 minutes per disk).
I've been using Exact Audio Copy to rip CD's to FLAC.  Not sure if that's the best one, but been pretty reliable when I copied CD's.  Never thought I would rip my entire collection, but my "archival grade" Taiyo Yuden are having disc rot.
dBpoweramp is great ripping software I've used it to rip my entire cd collection to flac. I don't use JRiver so can't comment but highly recommend dBpoweramp it's fantastic software and dirt cheap.