Replying to IPod questions

My current mp3 player is an iRiver H340. It was playing up so I sent it back for a service and received it back with a new HD, battery and main board today so pretty much as-new/refurb condition. Anti-iPod fanboys are all over these still and they're going for £180+ used on eBay over here. So I could sell it and get a new 80Gb iPod Classic and make £40. The advantage of the iPod is a much slimmer design and I won't have to teach my friends how to pick a track every time they ride in my car.

But, what's the score with iPods these days? I avoided it 4-5 years ago because I didn't know a single person who hadn't had problems with theirs. Are they robust (physically and electronicly) now? And importantly, is iTunes a pain in the ass to use for transferring stuff (the iRiver was just drag and drop like an external HD)? And can you make playlists on the iPod itself? Any other comments? All I'm using it for is listening to music, I don't give a crap about anything else.