My first iPod was the original Shuffle. The one that was basically a thumb drive with a headphone jack and some buttons. It's still sitting around somewhere, I think. It was a brilliant little device for its time, just an objectively good product. It was easy to use. It didn't try to sell you stuff, it didn't try to box you into buying more Apple products. It just was, and it was good.

As for buying albums- Do it. Something about listening to a whole album puts my head at ease. My car's glovebox is stuffed with CDs I got in places ranging from the local bookstore to a dive bar in Memphis. It's great music, but it's also a fond memory.