what is used to store music from multiple cd's

You will need to "rip" = copy the Cds to a hard drive which can be on a computer or NAS storage device and then play them through music player software such as Windows Media Player, Winamp, Media Monkey or JR River. The computer can be directly connected to your pre-amp through a hi-end sound card such as Lynx, through a stand alone DAC like HRT Music-streamer or through a network player like a Squeezebox Toucho or Transporter. check out computeraudiophile.com for a more detailed explanation.

I recommend a Squeezebox Touch and the DAC of your choice. You would need a computer to run the Squeezebox server software and to serve the music files ripped from your CDs (which could be your existing computer), and this would need to be connected to the Touch over an ethernet or wireless network.

Dvdgreco, I am assuming based on your phrasing of the question that you are not highly computer savvy?

If this is accurate (and please forgive me if it is not accurate), then I would suggest looking into different devices that are an all-in-one type device. This is a component that is going to look like a CD player and will have a hard drive (this is what will store the copies of your existing CD's for playback without having to put the CD into the component).

There are several companies that make these, but here are a quick few at different price points: Cambridge Audio, Olive, Cary Audio, McIntosh. There are many others as well, but this gives you an idea.

Typically you will want to have either a computer monitor or a TV attached to them to better review what music you are choosing to play. Additionally, typically they need to be connected to the internet (either via a hard line or wireless connection).

The benefit of these all-in-one devices are that they are much more compatible for the non-computer savvy users. Again, not sure if you fit that definition.

You can do the same thing for less money by using a computer combined with any number of items that provide for this. I use the Squeezebox Duet. But my concern with recommending that Duet or the Touch is that they are both being dropped by their manufacturer and support will disappear in the very near future. The last and final software update for the Duet has already been released and to make matters worse, it is filled with all sorts of new glitches.

Provide more details as to your comfort level to get better recommendations. There are a lot of people on this site that have gone through this and a lot of good info from them.