Sony Walkman family album

The Sony Walkman has come a long way over the 30-plus years since its inception. Once the company started exploring the digital-audio world with the release of minidisc players, it had even greater strides to make before morphing into the fantastic line of MP3 player we have before us below. Sony struggled through proprietary formats (ATRAC, anyone) and horrible syncing software requirements before finally succumbing to pressure to create an easier experience on the software end. And, boy, are we glad it did. Now, we get the ever-excellent Sony hardware paired with a simple software experience and an open syncing platform. If you're after a sleek design, plentiful features, stellar sound quality, and top-notch battery life, the Walkman line is a good place to start.