MD vs. tape

Don't bother with either one. Get a used DAT recorder. Sound quality is excellent and you can record at least 2 hours non-stop (and some decks can use 3 hour tapes).

Thanks for the reply, Taraszki. The limitation with DAT is that I can't play it in the car or through a Walkman, right? I'm not looking for ultimate fidelity here, but rather overall flexibility balanced with halfway decent sound. Maybe this is too much of a mid-fi or a low-fi question for this board, but I would imagine others have thought about how to hear music somewhere other than in their living rooms. Unfortunately for me, I have very little time to sit and listen to my main stereo, so I've got to grab it on the run -- driving to work, washing the dishes, working out. So everybody, what's YOUR solution to that problem?

You will almost undoubtedly have much better results with a tape player. You can get decent used tape players for a song, and you might even get paid for taking a used car tape player. One of the main drawbacks with MD's is the digital compression and minimized bandwith. Basically, you will find yourself losing the most at the extremes (lousy highs and no bass) if you use an MD player. I toyed with idea about 5 years ago and found the MD's to be completely unacceptable. I have a couple of female friends who do prefer the newer MD players for jogging since they're lighter and smaller. You will also likely find a better selection of chioces if you choose to buy tapes from your local record store.