+1 FLAC
+1 dbPoweramp
I tried all sorts of formats and ripping tools before I finally settled on these and they made the entire process so much better and faster. For someone like me that placed a lot of emphasis on accuracy when ripping, dbPoweramp worked extremely well and aided my ability to edit metadata and select artwork. These are things that may seem unimportant early on but reveal themselves to be valuable later.
Full disclosure: I finished ripping my roughly 3,000 CDs a few years ago, so I’m not up to speed on the latest tech.
I would also recommend that you keep at least one additional drive as a backup for all your music files, so that your investment in time and effort is protected.