Which file is better to rip cd's to itunes

Apple lossless...best for multiple reasons...no (theoretical) loss in quality...and much smaller drive consumption. (Note: I see theoretical...but In my experience...No loss in quality whatsoever.

One other thing...the only issue I've ever experienced re. applelossless on an IPOD is with the 3rd Generation Nano...there's a brief drop in the beginning of every song...Not real significant ...but there nonetheless...

Have not experienced this with other IPODs...likely a firmware type issue with that particular player...and not a bug with the software (as new versions have not mitigated).