2 gig isn't big enough . . . . 4 gig holds a thousand songs and ends up not being very much after a pretty short time - which is why DD upgraded to the big one. There used to be a 6 gig, but there isn't now. The 8 gig is the same price as the 30 gig.
And I cannot stand to have the earplugs in at all. But I have a little speaker system that the ipod plugs into and I treat it like a radio in the kitchen. Mostly I use it in the car and I have a cassette adapter for it - bought it in the clearance stuff for $4 for DH who left it sitting on the counter. DD took it and started playing it in the car all the time - got me hooked. So I had her add a few of my cd's to her ipod - which ended up filling it up, thus creating the need for a newer, bigger one - thus allowing me to grab her hand me down. When I delete all the teenage crap off hers, I'll have more room for more old fogey music (you know -those torch songs from the 40's!)
The little speaker systems can be had for as little as $20 or can cost more than the ipod. A friend got me one on clearance - it was originally sold for $99 and she got it for $7. Doncha just love that clearance section?