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I'm nearing the end of a big project, ripping my whole CD library to disc. Thought I'd share my perspective on the experience, with an emphasis on drives used for ripping. My main computer is a laptop--late-2015 MacBook Pro--which doesn't have an internal disc drive. So I'm stuck with external I already owned the USB Superdrive (manufacturer listed as Apple, Inc.), so I started out using that. It was fine, but a bit slow--and whose idea was it to use such a short, permanently attached cable? These things are made to use with laptops, and laptops are for laps! Then I got excited at the prospect of faster ripping. I live in NYC, with B&H nearby, so I visited that store and bought an LG M-DISC "super multi". Manufacturer is listed as "HLDS, Inc." Claimed specs were impressive. At best, the rip speeds were significantly faster, but I ended up pretty disappointed because of the number of times it failed to rip a disc without making unnecessary errors (with dBPoweramp's ripper). Some of these discs had never been opened; they were pristine. But the main tip-off that these errors were the drive's fault was: When it would start re-ripping frame by frame, I'd cancel, eject the disc, and start over again with that track. Most of the time when I did that it would start right up and plow through the rest. This happened every third disc or so. Only about one in five gave the same error again once I restarted. My main reason for posting this is the sentiment I've seen posted here several times: Don't worry about what drive you use; they all work as long as you use good software. Well maybe, but if you've ripping 1000 discs, you want one that's not going to make you start over again. Ripping can go quickly if you're always operating near optimal speed. But if every third (or so) disc give you problems, it becomes a very slow process. My LG M-Disc is still within 30 days, so I will return it. But even though I'm almost done, I'm still in the market for a good ripper. I understand that accuracy takes care of itself--or rather that software ensures it. But if it's unnecessary, all that error checking slows ripping down to a crawl. So, what's the best choice in an external drive for people who want to keep the workflow steady? (I'm not interested in bulk readers, especially since I'm now almost done. I think I've got about 40 more discs left to rip.) Thanks.