I use Linux so I am fortunate to have a wide variety of audio encoding and ripping tools. Another benefit of LInux seems to be that, unlike windows, you can have special characters in file names without a problem. But that's another story. Anyway, I think my favorite ripper/encoder is probably Grip which has tons of options but I have a problem with it recognizing special characters. Kaudiocreator is also very nice but very limited in features.