Rip, rip, hooray! Reclaim some valuable wall space in your house and be prepared to take your entire CD collection with you wherever you go.  Ripping services are gaining in popularity because they make it so easy to convert (a.k.a. rip) your entire collection into MP3 files for your portable media device. Lucky for you, we've outlined some of the top ripping services out there, complete with processes, shipping methods and what they're charging for something you know you could do yourself, if you only had the time. 

 

MusicShifter

 

 

Process:  Place your order at www.musicshifter.com and shipping materials are sent. Place your CDs in the empty canisters and ship back with prepaid shipping labels.  Your music library is sent back on DVDs via USPS, unless you have upgraded your shipping.  Organized by Artist, Album, Song, Genre. 

 

Extras: The "Try Before You Buy" offer rips the first 25 CDs free for new customers. One free trial per household.   This service takes two days, plus shipping, via the mid-level Priority processing speed. Another handy service offered by MusicShifter at no additional charge is manual entry in the event any of your CDs' metadata (Artist and Album) aren't recognized. Lastly, they can provide album cover art for your iPod or Sonos at no additional charge.

 

 

ReadyToPlay

 

Price: First 200 CDs are $1.30/CD, CDs over 200 are $1.15/CD.  Shipping not included in price.

 

Speed:  Under 48 hours, depending on collection size (does not include shipping time).

 

Based in: Palo Alto, CA

 

Process:  Order online at www.readytoplay.com and specify if you would like your music delivered via DVDs, external hard drive or MP3 player.  Pre-paid UPS shipping materials are sent to you, load up your CDs and ship them back.  You will receive your CDs, along with your DVDs (or hard drive or MP3 player).

 

 

Riptopia

 

Price:  $89 for 50 CDs, $139 for 100 CDs, $189 for 150 - price increases $50 per 50 CDs on up to $459 for 450 CDs.  Shipping is included in price.

 

Speed:  Under 48 hours

 

Based in:  Washington, D.C.

 

Process: Count your CDs and place your order by phone at 1-800-874-4921 or online at www.riptopia.com. Riptopia will send you the pre-paid, insured UPS shipping materials. You load up your case-free CDs onto spindles and ship back to them. Your rip will be completed in less than 48 hours, then your CDs and high-density DVDS (100 CDs per DVD), will be shipped back to you with instructions on importing them into your computer using iTunes or MusicMatch.  Music will be arranged alphabetically by artist, album and genre.

 

Extras: If you do not have a digital music player, you can order one from Riptopia and it will arrive fully loaded with your music collection free of charge.  The current promotion includes the iPod Nano bundle with 300 CDs for $299. Additionally, Riptopia offers the ShasPod which is 3,000 hours of the narrated Daf Yomi Torah, along with sermons, podcasts and other faith-based lessons, loaded onto an iPod, which they say has been a big hit with the Hasidic Jewish community. They also just launched GodiPod for Christians in September, and are working on Muslim-based lessons.  The ultimate fashion accessory for iPods are Riptopia's Shugabuds, which are Swarovski crystal-encrusted earbuds. 

  

 

RipDigital

 

Price:  $99 for 100 CDs, $149 for 150 CDs, 200 CDs for $200 and up.  Shipping is not included, unless you order the Premium service, which is $1.50 per CD.

 

Speed: 7-10 business days after receiving your CDs, does not include shipping time.

 

Based in:  New York, NY

 

Process: Count your CDs and order online at www.ripdigital.com.  You will be sent FedEx shipping materials.  Take your CDs out of their cases and place on provided spindles, call FedEx for a pickup and ship them back.  Once copied, your CDs and music library on DVD will be sent back to you with instructions on how to import the files into your hard drive using iTunes. Your music is arranged by artist, album and genre.

 

Extras: You can purchase 30 GB Video iPods loaded with your CD collection ranging from $449 (w/100 CDs) to $649 (w/300 CDs), along with other iPod options.  Another option is to order a preloaded hard drive in addition to your DVDs. Other file formats available upon request include MP3 VBR, AAC, Apple Lossless, Windows Media, Windows Lossless and FLAC.

 

 

Slim Devices

 

Price: $129 for 100 CDs, $179 for 150 CDs, $229 for 200 CDs and up. Shipping is an additional charge of $28.50 to $153.00.

 

Speed:  Most orders under 500 CDs are turned around in four days.

 

Based in:  Mountainview, CA

 

Process:  Order online at www.slimdevices.com.  You will be sent UPS shipping materials.  Take your CDs out of their cases and place on provided spindles, then ship back.  Once copied, your CDs and music library on DVD will be sent back to you with instructions on how to import the files into your hard drive using iTunes. Your music is arranged by artist and album. 

 

Extras:  In addition to MP3 format, they also offer WMA, AAC (AAC version m4a for iTunes/iPods), Ogg Vorbis, WMA Lossless, and FLAC (Lossless).

 

 

Moondog Digital

 

Price: $0.62 to $1.00/CD depending on volume.  Shipping included in price.

 

Speed: 2 to 5 days depending on the size of your collection (shipping time not included)

 

Based in:  Indianapolis, IN

 

Process:  Submit your order and payment information online at www.moondogdigital.com.  Pre-paid FedEx shipping materials will be sent to you.  Ship your CDs back on Moondog Digital's spindles.  Your materials will be shipped back to you, along with the digitized music on DVDs.