I would much prefer to have my own copies of my music, rather than streaming it. I'm not an audiophile, but I would like high-quality MP3's, i.e. 320 kbps. I have pretty eclectic music tastes, so I'll need a pretty wide catalog. Also, I may (or may not) have "acquired" a bunch of music over the years, and would like to go legit (hypothetically). I have no desire to be in the Apple ecosphere (Apple and I just don't get along), so iMusic/iTunes/whatever they call it is out. I'm probably looking at buying individual songs rather than whole albums. I did give Amazon a look, but their MP3's seem to be capped at 256 kbps.
What are my options?
Secondary question: I have CD's I want to rip/re-rip. Does the ripping software matter?