MP3 Playaz

My job is pretty sweet, because I have around 2 hours everyday to read while the kid I work with takes a nap. Unfortunately, these potentially tranquil and intellectually stimulating hours are consistently filled with the incessant harping of my gossip hungry co-workers. I would like to shut out their innane banter with some music, so I have decided to purchase some sort of MP3 player. I'm probably going to buy the 4 gig Ipod mini, but I heard that they don't have a random option. Is that true? Some of the non-apple ones I looked at had an FM tuner, so I could listen to the radio as well as my tunes. Does the ipod have that option?

I thought about the shuffle, but I figure I might as well get something a little more tweeked out. At the same time, I don't really feel the need for something that can hold a million songs.

I guess I'm wondering if there are non-itunes mp3 players that would give a better bang for the buck. Any advice?